Family Bonding
by itachiboutit
Summary: What happens when you accidentally travel back 20 years in the past and are stuck with your teenage father, who, spoiler alert, is even lamer than he is in the future? At least that's the way Boruto sees it. Because I couldn't /not/ write a Time Travel AU
1. Chapter 1

**And here's this thing that I've been working on for a minute! Oh how time flies, I recall, once upon a time ago, vowing to never make one of these, but my resolve cracked and the opportunity was way too good to pass up. Besides I really like where I see this story heading soooo enjoy!**

...

Buildings now erect and growing taller, new establishments in the making, the scent of progress in the air. The village was coming back together nicely, Naruto noted with pride.

Although Pain— well, _Nagato_ had revived everyone he killed in his attack on the village, Konoha had still been left with a gaping crater in its center and houses and other parts of the village being blown to bits. Their village had to be rebuilt from the ground up and everyone came together to see to it.

By some strange fluke, Naruto was one of the lucky ones. His apartment had been spared from the majority of the destruction, so the after effects hadn't been so bad for him (aside from the injuries he sustained). Others weren't so lucky though.

Whole families had been rendered homeless, all of their possessions lost to the Pains reign of terror. But with the efforts of the Hokage, temporary living arrangements were set into place along with any other aid the villagers might have needed.

There had been the initial sense of dismay at the state of the village and fear of how vulnerable they were now, but shinobi and citizen, young and old, were working swiftly together to repair the damages and they'd been doing a pretty good job.

Everywhere Naruto looked, signs of growth stood. No one was idle. Children helped their parents with repairs, delivered items across the village, or offered their services wherever need be, and even resident shop owners provided a midday meal for all those working in the vicinity. It made him smile. He was lucky to live in such a cohesive village.

Now, Naruto strolled, gazing at the buildings in their near completion. As he walked, we waved and sheepishly greeted the villagers who called his name in glee, thanking him once again for saving the village.

He _still_ wasn't used to the hero thing. Wouldn't be for a while if he was being perfectly honest. It was just _strange_ how the people who glared at him in contempt for years, now stared at him with tears of gratitude in their eyes.

If he thought having Konohamaru and his gang tailing him was bad enough, the hordes of brats that followed him around now was getting to be ridiculous.

It was times like this that Naruto really began to appreciate. Moments alone when he could just walk around the village, with, you know, the exception of all the "thank yous" and "you're a hero" and "can I please shake your hand" and well… maybe he wasn't _alone_ alone but he was glad that his 13 year old fan base had taken a reprieve.

He was just thinking of taking his leisurely walk to a slight pre-lunch meal at Ichiraku when he heard someone calling his name. The golden haired shinobi turned and to his delight saw Sakura running to catch up with him.

"Geesh," she heaved at his side, "One would think _you'd_ be easy to find. I've been looking for you all day."

He grinned, "What for? Gonna make good on a date you might've promised me?"

Naruto could tell she was rearing to sock him but refrained. Nowadays, it wouldn't look too good if she sent the hero of the village flying through a wall.

She sighed, but kept a clenched fist close at bay in case he was feeling a little too cocky, "_No_. Lady Tsunade has a mission for us."

He instantly brightened, "Really? You're for real, Sakura? I haven't gotten a mission in like, _forever_."

"You just finished fighting Pain not too long ago," She rolled her eyes. "Saving the village earns you a little break, whether you like it or not."

"Yeah yeah, that kinda thing gets _boring_ though."

"You know," Sakura said pointedly. "This break isn't just for you. Most of our classmates got seriously injured. They'd feel bad and want to rush their recovery if we all started back on missions."

His smile dropped a bit, remembering that while there were no casualties, the Pains had done quite a number on their shinobi, "Yeah, I guess you're right…"

"Hinata won't be in commission for some time, I'm afraid," the medic thought aloud.

Naruto grimaced, "It's that bad?"

Sakura turned to Naruto and gave him a reassuring smile, "Don't worry. She's a fighter. Everything will be alright." She pinched his arm.

He winced, "What was that for?"

"You'd better visit her, dummy."

The blond rubbed his arm, "Look I've tried, but she…" His hand reached up to scratch the back of his head. "Wasn't accepting visitors when I went. I've seen Choji, though. And Shikamaru and Kakashi and—"

"Alright, I get it." She interjected with a signature eye roll. "You're a great friend. Now, this mission,"

"Oh yeah!" His eagerness was restored. "What're you waiting for?"

She shook her head, "There's been break-ins at the Hokage Tower. A few scrolls have been stolen too, but all that's been reported missing were just some dates and merchant records. Nothing too sensitive."

"Why would anyone want to steal a bunch of boring scrolls?"

"Beats me, but the thing is, no one would be able to get into these archives without the blood of the Hokage," Naruto recognized Sakura's thinking face when she brought a finger up to her chin. "I mean it's a pretty old seal, it's been there since Lord Third but we've never seen something like this before."

Naruto cringed, "Do you think someone's taking Granny's blood?"

"I doubt it, despite the fact that Lady Tsunade is one of the Legendary Sannin, she's heavily guarded at all times.

"Weird." He agreed.

"Our mission is to guard the tower and catch whoever's doing it."

"Hm," Naruto touched his own chin. "Not too exciting…"

"This could be a real threat Naruto!"

"Well for all we know it could be Konohamaru and his friends pulling a prank or something."

"Naruto…" Sakura's restraint was reaching its limit.

"Think about it Sakura! This seal has been around since the Third and Konohamaru's his _grandson _so they've got the same blood." Naruto congratulated himself on his deductive reasoning, meanwhile Sakura looked irritated that he had made a solid point for once.

"Yes," She begrudgingly admitted. "That does make sense. But don't you think he's outgrown that sort of thing?"

Before he could respond, Sakura cut him off.

"_If it is him_, he'll be in big trouble when we catch him, okay? Hokage Tower, 8 o'clock. Be there."

"It's a date." He grinned.

And that's when Sakura's kindness streak ended.

…

Come 10 o'clock that evening, all was quiet and Naruto was sitting alone in a tree. He, Sai, Sakura, and Kakashi had spread out along the perimeter of the building, dispersing after their pink haired teammate gave he and Sai a disappointing disclaimer from Kakashi, who'd gone ahead.

"Whoever's been raiding the tower strikes at random times. There's been no reported pattern but with security being moved along with all the construction and displacements, that makes the archives susceptible to these sorts of things. That being said, it could take days, weeks even to catch whoever this is."

So Naruto leaned against the trunk of his tree, looking up into the night sky. He'd had to skip dinner at Ichiraku for this— they'd been closed earlier due to lumber shipments, but Ayame promised him first bowl come dinner time.

Konohamaru was dead when he caught him, well, _whoever_ it was was dead for making him miss out on Ichiraku. And they had to play the waiting game? Waiting was definitely not something he was good at.

And while they were stuck looking for the kid, Kakashi-sensei was probably off somewhere reading his pervy book.

Naruto contemplated going to see how Sakura or Sai were holding up— because this whole assignment couldn't have been more boring— but decided against it. However enthralled his sensei was in those trashy novels, he wouldn't hesitate to chew Naruto out for leaving his post. So Naruto was pretty proud of his decision to stay when he caught a flash of shadow out of the corner of his eye. His judgement was really quite amazing, if he did say so himself.

Naruto started eagerly, glad that this mission wouldn't be as long as Sakura anticipated. He jumped off his branch and landed down in front of the culprit. The canopies of the trees immersed them in darkness, so he couldn't confirm that it was the Sarutobi brat like he had wanted. Nevertheless, the blond lunged out to grab him before he got away but all that was left in his hands was smoke.

Konohamaru wasn't that quick was he?

The figure was quickly fleeing in the opposite direction when the smoke cleared. If there was one thing he knew, Konohamaru never retreated. He was too damn cocky for his own good. The kid must have known he was in big trouble.

Naruto pursued on foot, summoning clones to join him in the chase.

"Naruto?" Kakashi came in from his earpiece, most likely sensing his pursuit. "Do you have something?"

Naruto wanted to claim this victory all on his own. There'd be no way he could clobber the kid the way he wanted with Kakashi-sensei there.

"Eh, might've just been a cat but I'm gonna check it out."

His sensei seemed to accept his explanation and the line went silent.

Naruto and his shadow clones skimmed across abandoned rooftops scanning the area below for movement. One of his clones saw a figure shoot into the shadows and headed towards it. All of a sudden, the shadow clone disappeared.

He was stunned momentarily before veering in that direction, summoning two more shadow clones in its place and sending them ahead.

Naruto was there this time to witness the signature poof that came along with the dispelling of his clones which worked right along with his makeshift plan.

He shot through the smoke—what? Did the kid think he'd fall for the same trick twice?— and he grabbed at the hand that just barely managed to slip away, yanking him up by his wrist.

There was a startled yelp and Naruto couldn't help but notice this was _not_ Konohamaru.

Confusion hit him at first because all signs had pointed to the kid. And Konohamaru had brown hair and blue eyes right? Not _blond_ hair and blue eyes and his whiskers, and wait a second… _what_?

The miniature _him_ stayed dangling in the air, staring back at him with blue eyes as wide as Naruto's own before he disappeared from his grasp.

Naruto was left frozen in place, Sakura coming in on his transmitter now, "Naruto? Did you find anyone?"

"...uh…"

"Naruto?"

...

Boruto laid across a bench, arms behind his head, enjoying the autumn sunset. He sighed blissfully. It was moments like these that he really appreciated. No one to bother him. No one to nag him.

Nope, he was perfectly...alone.

"_You know maybe, you're too old to still be acting like this."_

Shikadai's grating voice rang in his head. What the hell did he know anyway? _Nothing_, Boruto had so pointedly told him, he should mind his own business.

Boruto found himself fidgeting where he lay. Firstly, that bench was _not_ as comfortable as he had tricked himself into believing, and it was just _too_ quiet. Shifting around some more, he finally gave up in frustration. All he wanted to do was have a nice evening to himself but he wasn't even in the right mood, which irritated him even more.

His friends had abandoned him so there wasn't much he could do to occupy his time until curfew, so he begrudgingly walked home, decidedly taking the long way.

It wasn't like he did anything wrong really. He didn't. Well… it was an _accident_, not that anyone would believe that.

All he had done was ruin the banquet a few of the genin had put together in honor of the Hokage's birthday. But he hadn't done it on purpose, of course.

Boruto had been walking through the training grounds, looking for where everyone had disappeared to, when he saw a few of his former classmates hanging up banners and setting a table or two.

"What's going on?" The blond asked. Denki turned at the sound of his voice and eagerly crossed the clearing.

"Hey Boruto! Glad you're here. You can actually help us out!"

Sumire, who'd been standing nearby, saw the confusion on Boruto's face, "We're all free today so Sarada and Iwabe thought we could all come together to throw a party for Lord Hokage!"

Boruto instantly deflated. "Oh," He responded lackadaisically.

"You'll help us won't you, Boruto?" Denki smiled at him expectantly.

"Um...sure…"

Denki bounced off with Boruto trudging behind him. The brunet avidly gave instructions to those arranging the food on the tables and offered a few notes to Inojin and Metal Lee who were hanging streamers.

As they passed, Boruto glanced at the table in distaste. It was all ramen. He saw enough of the stuff everyday and now Chocho was preparing a whole ton of it, pouring steaming water into each of the cups— genin salary couldn't really afford the fancy stuff at Ichiraku.

Denki brought him over to a large banner that read: "Happy Birthday Lord Seventh" in glaringly large print. Iwabe stood happily admiring his work. Denki motioned towards it, "Could you help hang this? Everyone's a little occupied at the moment and Sarada's already gone to get Lord Hokage. He'll be here any minute!" The four-eyed genin was practically crackling with excitement.

Boruto shrugged, fighting back an eye roll,"Yeah okay."

With Iwabe grabbing one end and Boruto on the other, the two followed Denki and maneuvered the sign up into the trees. Iwabe and his teammate were debating about something and Boruto found himself only half listening to the instructions he was given.

Why was everyone going through all this trouble for his dad? He was the Hokage, after all. What made them think that he'd even show up? He had like, actual work stuff to do. He wouldn't show and even if he did… why were his friends so obsessed with him? It just didn't make any sense to him. It wasn't as if his father was interesting or anything.

Boruto raised the banner up as Denki asked, chewing on his lip. It was the stupid title that made them think that way. If he was just a normal person, he knew they'd see him like Boruto saw him.

At command, Boruto yanked the sign towards his side. The blond was fuming by now.

"Boruto—"

"Yeah I got it!" He went to wrap the cord around his branch a little too aggressively and he slipped. His grip tightened on the sign as he went crashing down into the table below. Hot water and noodles flew everywhere and Boruto laid soaking wet on top of the broken table, half a banner in his hand.

Everyone stared at him in shock, empty cups rolled to their feet.

Still in a daze Sumire approached him, "Boruto...are...are you alright?"

The water luckily had cooled so the only damage done was the noodles and pork he'd be fishing out of his hair for days.

Apparently the wrong way to respond was to laugh. He stood shaking himself clean and told her, "I'm good, yeah." Then burst into another round of cackling, "Man that's too bad. Guess my stupid old man can't have _more_ ramen."

His former classmates broke into worried murmurs and Boruto waved them off, "It's no big deal guys, I can guarantee that my dad's already had six bowls of this stuff and it isn't even noon!"

No one paid him any attention though. They all migrated over to the ruined decorations, looking absolutely heartbroken. Iwabe gazed at the torn banner he'd worked so hard on, hands clenched into fists.

Boruto sensed that the atmosphere wasn't quite ready for lightheartedness yet. "Hey Iwabe—" He began gently. His friend whipped around, seething, "What the hell is your problem, Boruto?!"

He took a step back, "Look, I'm sorry. It was an accident—"

Sarada's voice entered the clearing with the guest of honor right behind her. The Uchiha's smile dropped at the scene before them.

"Wha…?!" Her eyes ran over the crowd before they settled on Boruto. Black eyes narrowed in anger and before she could even think about confronting him, Denki scampered up to the two arrivals.

He bowed, "Lord Seventh, please allow me to apologize. We had planned a party for you but unfortunately...it's all ruined now. I'm so very sorry."

Naruto blinked at the genin before he began his rapid reassurances that it was alright, he appreciated it anyway. This did nothing to deter the rest of the genin who gathered to approach him and ask him for forgiveness, they had _really_ wanted to throw him a party. The Hokage stood, quite flustered, trying to console them.

Boruto meanwhile, hung behind them, utterly dumbfounded. Why was everyone else apologizing? He was the one to have ruined it, they shouldn't have— well… he should…

He balled up his fists, anger washing over him.

"Look," he burst. "It's just a stupid birthday. It doesn't even matter!"

All eyes were suddenly on him and he was almost overwhelmed with the glares that were shot his way. His closer friends threw irritated glances his way while the shock on everyone else's faces increased. Boruto looked at them all before his eyes landed on his father. He'd been more than prepared to see that same look of exasperation that always made an appearance when Boruto caused a scene like that. But this time it was nowhere to be seen. He looked...sad. And it wasn't a pitying glance, his father looked almost crushed.

Boruto needed an out of the situation and fast, so he turned on his heel and shot away. "Later." He mumbled.

Maybe, Boruto thought walking home, that wasn't the best way to have handled he situation but it _was_ just a stupid party. The village probably had banquets all over town celebrating the Hokage's birthday. And when he'd tried to tell his friends that, they regarded him in disgust.

"Look," Shikadai told him later that day rather coldly. "None of us really said anything about it when we were younger but this has to stop."

Chocho's arms were crossed over her chest, "Yeah Boruto, you may hate your dad or whatever but this was taking it too far."

He'd opened his mouth to retaliate but the words died on his tongue as his friends walked away, still pretty upset.

They'd get over it, Boruto decided, kicking pebbles around. They'd always forgiven him for the stunts he pulled. The image of his father flashed in his mind. There was no way he was actually sad that a bunch of kids hadn't been able to throw him a birthday party. If that was the case, he was the one that needed to grow up, not Boruto.

As the last light of the evening faded away over the horizon, Boruto finally decided to go inside, wasting enough time wandering around his back yard. He walked around the side of his house and opened the front door.

"I'm home." he called, not expecting an answer. They had most likely gone out to one of the dinners the village was having for him, judging by the lack of lighting in the house. Boruto set his shoes beside the door and padded into the kitchen. Guess he was making his own dinner tonight.

He stopped when he saw his parents curled up on the couch watching something on tv. Their eyes flew towards him and his mother smiled, "Welcome home, honey. I set your dinner on the counter for you, if you were hungry."

His eyes shifted between his father, who'd previously been stuffing his face with what could only be ramen and his mother who didn't seem aware of what occurred earlier in the day.

"Uh...did you guys go out to eat?"

She shook her head, "No sorry. It's nothing fancy I'm afraid. Just leftovers. I didn't cook anything for tonight."

"Oh…" Had he gotten the date wrong? Glancing at the calendar on the wall, he confirmed that it was in fact October 10th. His mother smiled at him once more and left him to get his dinner if he liked, turning her attention back to the tv. Her husband wrapped an arm around her, attempting to shovel noodles in his mouth while she laughed softly at his antics.

Instinctively he rolled his eyes, he wasn't one to stick around when they got all mushy. He grabbed his plate of cold food and retreated up to his room.

Passing Himawari's door, he knocked and cracked it open. His little sister was in the middle of what could only be described as an art explosion. Colored pictures of every kind laid everywhere when Boruto poked his head inside.

"Hey Hima…" he greeted cautiously.

Her face brightened and she launched herself at him, "You're back! Welcome home big brother!"

Smiling, he nodded. Himawari always put him in a better mood.

"What's all this?" Boruto stepped over all the paper on the floor, seating himself on her bed.

His sister had resumed her activity and didn't look up when she responded, "Finishing Daddy's birthday present."

Boruto frowned, poking at the cold food on his plate before discarding it altogether. He wasn't really hungry anymore.

"Oh really?" He responded, trying to sound enthused.

"Yep! One picture for every year! Smart right?"

He watched as Himawari sketched whatever came into her mind.

"You know Hima," He started. "You always give Dad drawings for his birthday. You're ten now, don't you think you wanna try something else?"

Her crayon stopped and she stared down at her paper for some time before looking up at him. She regarded him with a curious look, "Well… I guess you're right… What should I do?"

Boruto blinked rapidly. He hadn't planned on getting roped into Himawari's gift but guilt had been gnawing away at him for some time now.

He shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno. What does Dad like?" Seeing the look on her face, he clarified, "Other than ramen."

Himawari took this into consideration and thought long and hard. Boruto decided to take his leave, "Well if you figure it out, run it by me."

He escaped into his room and closed the door with a sigh, feeling compelled to use Shikadai's catchphrase. Because honestly? What a drag. People spent enough time fawning over the "legendary" Naruto Uzumaki. If they didn't let up soon, Boruto was sure that his father's head would over-inflate.

And because of all of the Seventh Hokage's fans and their fierce admiration of him, Boruto was seriously at risk of losing his friends.

"_...just because you hate your dad…"_

Why was he always the bad guy? He was the _kid_. The _adult_ was supposed to take fault, especially when said adult spent all his time neglecting his family. He was the one who decided to become Hokage, not Boruto.

He had finally collapsed on his own bed, his thoughts leaving him beat. His arm was flung over his eyes when his door crawled open. The smell of garlic wafted off of his visitor and Boruto didn't even bother raising his arm.

"What do you want, Dad?"

"Just wanted to check on you."

Boruto gazed at him suspiciously, "What for?"

"Well your friends seemed to be upset with you so I was just—"

"It wasn't even my fault." He muttered.

"Oh. Okay—" Boruto probably should have left it alone but he was worked up and there was no bringing him back down. He scoffed offhandedly, "What's their deal with you? I don't even get it."

His father chuckled a little, "It's my job to have everyone look up to me. I try to inspire everyone to be the best that they can be. You know, when I was your age—"

"Just shut it, Dad." Boruto growled. "I don't care about Hokages or inspiration or whatever the hell you're talking about."

His father had grown increasingly patient with him over the years and automatically responded, "Are you mad at me for something?"

"Why would I be mad?" He drawled sarcastically. "Because none of my friends want to talk to me? Because they think I'm a jerk?"

"What do you want me to do, Boruto," Naruto sounded tired now. "Apologize for having a birthday?"

Boruto didn't take too well having his sarcasm replied with more sarcasm.

He sat up now, anger seeping out, "I'm so sick of you acting so entitled all the damn time! What makes your birthday so much more special than anyone else's? The whole village doesn't need to drop everything they're doing just to kiss your ass more than they already do! It's like...it's like…" He was struggling to find words, his emotions coming to a full boil. He glared at his father who did nothing but stand there, downright infuriating the 12 year old, "It's like the more people care about you, the more they hate me and you don't even care! You don't think about me at all!"

And for the second time that day, Naruto surprised his son. His eyes had widened at Boruto's declaration but narrowed suddenly, venomously.

"How could you say that?" It startled Boruto just how low his voice was. "Do you really think that I don't think about you?"

Keeping up his front, Boruto crossed his arms, glancing away. After a few moments of tense silence, his father spoke. "You are such a damn brat, Boruto."

Boruto's eyes shot back up to him and he couldn't help his tiny gasp. They'd had plenty of spats before. The back and forth between them was common but they had now come to levels that they hadn't reached before. The ones where all joking had been put aside and feelings had been damaged.

The amount of emotion Boruto could feel radiating off him made him stiffen.

"You may hate me," His voice was practically shaking. "but your friends worked hard today and you just ruined it. Are you even sorry?"

He couldn't respond if he had wanted to. His mouth was clamped shut in shock.

Naruto took his silence as admission, scoffing in disbelief, "I understand that you may not get to choose your family, but these are your friends. You can't just do these things, Boruto. Even if I'm involved. You have this grudge against me and that's… that's fine." Boruto could tell he didn't believe the words coming from his own mouth. "Take it from someone who was _alone_ for his entire childhood: you should always cherish your comrades." He looked like he wanted to say more, but decided against it. Naruto turned to leave, but not before issuing a terse, "Goodnight."

Boruto was left staring at the door. That little echo of guilt he felt earlier only grew into a gaping hole in his stomach.

Part of him— a huge part— wished that Naruto had come in, sporting that same old stupid grin, asking him about his day, getting ticked when he said something snarky, and finally leaving with a good natured shove to his son's head. Boruto, for once, felt bad. Really bad.

He couldn't very well take back what he said, but he was sorry. His father's childhood was a testier subject than he'd ever understand, but it wasn't often that Naruto would let it get him down. It was truly a sight to behold to see the village's shining sun look truly despondent.

He sat around his room for hours, wondering what he should do. Naturally, he thought he'd let it all blow over. He'd be fine in the morning. A little voice inside of him told him that he'd probably be the opposite. So Boruto Uzumaki sucked up his ego and marched down to his parents' room.

The door was slightly ajar, and he peeked his head inside. Boruto spotted his father settled on the edge of his bed. He was changing his bandages by the look of it.

He slowly pushed the door open and his father only gave him a moment's glance before focusing back on the task at hand. Boruto watched as Naruto fumbled with the wrappings. It'd been over a decade since he had the arm, the younger blond knew, and his father still couldn't change them on his own. By the sound of water running from their adjoining bathroom, he could tell Naruto was just busying himself.

"Hey, Dad?" Boruto's eyes were trained on his feet.

"What is it?" Sure enough, he sounded just as upset as he had hours ago. Boruto toed at where the wood divided the hallway from the bedroom.

"I...um…Sorry." He finished lamely.

Naruto exhaled deeply, responding, "It's fine, Boruto."

It was a boldfaced lie but from the look on his father's face, he didn't want to talk about it anymore. So he stood there for a long time, leaving the air open for his father to initiate conversation.

After a while the water shut off, and Boruto finally headed back up to his room.

No point in getting Mom involved, he thought. All she was going to do was scold him, making him feel bad but, she'd be a little late to the punch. Already though, that guilt was dissipating into frustration. He tried talking with him. He'd apologized too! The way Boruto saw it, Naruto was being the difficult one.

He slammed his door with more force than necessary and buried his face into his pillow. Well, he could apologize again tomorrow…

_No_, the other side of him snapped. If he didn't want to talk, then so be it.

But he'd sounded so…

Boruto grabbed at his blond locks in irritation. The half cooked noodles and vegetables still in his hair only vexed him more. He took off his headband, stuffing it into his pocket. The carrots that came cascading down alongside golden bangs had him sighing in frustration.

His door creaked open and hope sprang up in his chest. It deflated just slightly when Himawari crept inside his room.

"What is it Himawari?"

His sister gave him a fox-like grin and held her hands out.

"I figured out a present!"

Remembering what he had assigned her, he sighed a bit, "Oh? What did you come up with?" Boruto eyed the scroll in her hands.

Himawari's eyes shone in the moonlight, "It's super top secret, but for his birthday I was going to help him with work."

Boruto cocked his head to the side and she elaborated, "See, sometimes, when he's finished all his work stuff, Daddy works on other stuff that he told me isn't work stuff. It's secret stuff!"

"That's a lot of stuff." He commented dryly.

Himawari scowled, "I'm serious, Boruto. I know what I want to do. I wanna help him finish it."

Boruto scratched the back of his head, "Finish what, exactly?"

She unfurled the scroll, "The jutsu he's making!"

Scribbled down was a series of notes and seals. They ran on for a few feet before abruptly stopping.

"Finish his jutsu? That's a weird present, don't you think? Maybe your drawings wouldn't be so bad, you know?"

"Uh uh," Himawari shook her head. "This'll make him happy. I'm sure of it. Then maybe," she added softly. "He can stop working so hard all the time. He can stay with us just a little bit more."

Boruto sighed, realizing that although chipper and unperturbed most of the time, Himawari missed their father.

"So I figure," Himawari continued excitedly, "That since you're so good at ninjutsu, you could help me. We can finish writing it together and then show Daddy!"

"Well, I don't know Hima…" He watched as her face fell. "Dad's not all that happy with me at the moment and his birthday's practically over anyway. Besides, I've never made any jutsu before, so I probably wouldn't be any good."

"Oh…" Himawari murmured. She rolled up the scroll, "I guess I can still make him something else…"

His sister threw him a strained smile on her way out, "Well goodnight then, big brother!"

When Himawari left, he rolled back into his pillow, trying to find sleep. He tossed and turned around for what seemed like forever before sliding off his bed and marching across the hall.

What the hell, right?

Despite the late hour, Himawari was up. She sat on the floor, trying to make sense of the scroll out in front of her. She gasped upon his entrance, "Boru, I—"

"Don't worry, I'm here to help."

She smiled eagerly and watched as he assessed the scroll.

He found shortly, that he couldn't make any sense of what was written down. There was something about kekkei genkai, the Sharingan, and something about a kamui, that somehow sounded familiar.

"Well…" He began uncertainly, "There are a few seals that need to be activated so that's a start."

Reading on placed one hand on the inscriptions and mumbled to himself, "Hitsuji. Uma. Tatsu. Ushi…" And so on the seals continued. When he finished he glanced at the writing, "I'm not sure I get it, Hima. I don't even know what this jutsu is supposed to do—"

The ink under his hand began to glow, swirling on the paper. Boruto tried to retract his palm but some invisible force glued it to the parchment. Boruto's eyes shot up from his hand to Himawari, whose hands were positioned in Mi, the last seal he'd recited. The light only got brighter and he was beginning to panic.

Chakra coursed rapidly throughout his body, making his head spin.

"Boruto—" Himawari grabbed his wrist, only locking her in with him. Wind began to swirl around the room, sending papers flying. They could barely see through the light and suddenly Himawari's chakra paths could be seen. He felt his right eye.

His Byakugan?

The light faded and the small tornado along with it. White eyes stared at each other in shock but with the succession of another flash of purple light, brighter this time, the many works of Himawari's art gallery floated gently to the floor and then the empty room was silent.

…

**Tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

Annnnnd I'm back! Thanks so much everyone for all the overwhelming support for this story so far! It really makes me happy and gives me a lot of motivation to make this story the best it can be! I apologize for the longish wait, one of my goals for this story is to have a schedule set up for updates. We're not there yet but it's a work in progress. But anyway, enjoy!

...

"Boruto?"

What was Himawari doing in his room at this hour, he wondered. He groaned in response, exhaustion weighing heavily on him. Wind ruffled his hair and he could smell pines. He must've left his window open.

"Boruto!"

Opening his eyes, he was met by Himawari's worried face hovering over him.

"Hima, what're you doing in here?" His words slurred groggily.

"Boru, I-I don't know where we are. After that light, we were suddenly here and then…"

Boruto's vision cleared and he noticed that past Himawari was the starry night sky, definitely not the ceiling of his bedroom. He brought a hand up to his eye, the pressure beginning to release. The night's events came back to him all at once and he struggled to sit up. When he faltered, his sister reached out to steady him.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine," He wheezed, coming to a sitting position. They were in the woods, he noted. From the lights he could see through the trees, civilization wasn't too far off. Looking down, Boruto found the scroll spread out next to them. A few pieces came together for him as he scanned over the document.

"Dad's trying to use teleportation." Boruto realized aloud.

"Like Grandpa Minato?" Himawari asked.

Her brother nodded. "I guess so...but what I don't get is why he said it wasn't complete. It looks like it works well enough."

"But here," Himawari pointed to the text, "It says it's 'unstable.' I remember Daddy saying that he'd never be able to finish it."

Boruto scratched his head, "That doesn't make any sense. We didn't have any trouble with it, and we're kids. Dad couldn't be that stupid, could he?"

The younger Uzumaki made a face and Boruto relented, "Well I'll give him one thing: this jutsu certainly compensated for his chakra; I'm running on empty."

Himawari still looked at him worriedly, "I could lend you some of mine."

"Nah," he shook his head. "I'll be good." Boruto took a quick survey of their surroundings, "The trees look familiar so we can't be too far from home. Maybe you could look around for me. Go see if you recognize any of those buildings."

Himawari blushed and fiddled with the fabric of her night shirt.

"What's wrong?"

"Well...it's just that I'm only wearing pajamas… what if someone sees me?"

Boruto rolled his eyes, "I'm sure everyone in the village has seen you in diapers, Himawari."

She still seemed reluctant to go so sighing, Boruto shrugged off his jacket.

"Here, put this on and hurry up."

Nodding, she slid her arms through the large sleeves and scampered off. Boruto inspected the scroll once more. There was a good chance that they were a ways away from home. If that were the case, with Boruto's sapped chakra, they'd be walking home, very slowly at that. The fact that left him puzzled was how much energy it had taken up. A simple teleportation jutsu shouldn't have taken that much out of him, Boruto knew that much.

He stopped his scan once more where the writing ended on the scroll.

Wait, he squinted at the print, had the writing changed?—

"Boruto!" Himawari came running up.

He shook off his previous observation. He was probably just imagining things, "What did you see?"

His sister looked uneasy and pointed at the nearest house, "That right there looks like Ms Hitori's house."

"Looks like?"

"It just kinda looks like someone broke it down and they're building a new house there."

"Yeah, that's...weird." He murmured. Ms. Hitori never said anything about moving or a renovation. Maybe it was just a coincidence. The village was a lot bigger than they thought. Having the same house designs could have been nothing but happenstance. "It probably just looks like Ms. Hitori's house then.

"But Boruto…" She looked at him, wide eyed. "I saw that tree. From when we were little remember?"

"What, Climby Tree?" He slightly cringed at the name the two of them had given the tree when they were younger.

Himawari nodded nervously.

Now Boruto knew that wasn't possible. Couldn't be. That tree had been struck by lightning years ago.

Boruto stood, shaking his head, "No, that...that doesn't make sense. You must've just imagined it," He had grown a little uneasy himself, "Yeah, a bunch of trees look the same."

"But in the middle, I counted, there's three knots. And remember? Those were the only ones I could get onto."

They stared at each other for a moment before Boruto shook his head once more, "You're just imagining things."

He got to his feet and Himawari followed him to the tree in question. Well— they couldn't even call it a tree. It was a little bit more than a twig, but the tree that they had spent their summers climbing had a very distinct feature about it that couldn't be mistaken: it had grown irregularly and rather growing out straight, it looped around onto itself.

There were three distinctive knots towards the bottom that his sister must have recognized. There was no doubt about it. This little, knotted up stick was their tree, Boruto realized, leaving him more unsettled than anything.

None of that made any sense, though, the blond thought. If Climby Tree was there, then their house should have been right beside it, but all there was was the clearing that they had come out of.

Putting his fatigue aside, Boruto scaled a tree and looked overhead.

This couldn't have been the village. There were way less buildings, and not nearly as much light brightened the night sky. Boruto would have felt better had they teleported to another village, that his father's copy of Minato's jutsu was a success. To his unease, though, he recognized that they were still in Konoha. There could be no mistaking it. He could just make out the Hokage Tower in the distance and the glow of the full moon revealed the Hokage mountain. They were home.

But he couldn't help but notice that the monument was sporting less stone heads than usual.

He hung on the branch, staring out into the distance longer than Himawari thought necessary.

"What do you see?" She called up to him.

Looking down at her, he contemplated lying. He weighed the options in his head. If he lied, Himawari wouldn't freak out (like he was on the verge of doing) but telling her that they'd be home in the morning was unlikely to be successful. He knew he didn't have enough chakra to engage the jutsu again, maybe not even till morning. If he didn't lie, he'd have to face the entire weight of the situation alongside Himawari's worrying. The two didn't particularly make for a too enjoyable combo.

He hopped down and landed in front of his sister. Putting on a smile he rested his hand on her head, "Well until I can get my chakra back, looks like we're going camping."

"But won't we be in trouble? Mom and Dad might—"

"They shouldn't worry. I'm with you and I'm an official shinobi of Konoha."

Himawari didn't look impressed, "You're a genin."

"W-Well," He brushed off the hit to his ego. "You'll be fine. We're not far from home so it's okay, you know."

"Uh, alright… Where are we going to sleep?"

"On the ground of course." Boruto grinned. "Unless you want to sleep in a tree." At her expression he added lightly, "It's a lot better than it sounds. When I went on missions and stuff, Konohamaru taught us how to make it comfortable."

She nodded tentatively, displeasure still evident, and followed his instructions to gather leaves.

Covering herself up, she glanced over at him, "Everything's gonna be okay?"

"Mhm. Yeah." He smiled. "I'll explain everything in the morning."

She sighed, muttering, "I hate sleeping outside." And shortly after, fell asleep. He snorted, a good portion of her chakra had been drained as well, but she'd been trying so hard to put up a front.

Boruto stayed up for a while, mind whirling, hand wrapped tightly around the scroll. Shaking off the panic growing in his gut, he urged himself to get some rest.

Everything was fine, he told himself. They hadn't even left their backyard, after all.

…

In the morning, Boruto offered his sister a botched explanation of their situation. He wasn't quite sure of it, and hadn't ventured outside of their yard to confirm it: They had somehow, by some weird, impossible phenomenon, gone back in time. Maybe. He was still hoping that they were just in the woods somewhere and that he had somehow just imagined the Hokage monument with five heads instead of seven.

When they'd performed the jutsu and both of their Byakugan were activated, that should have been telling enough that something bad was bound to happen. When he saw Himawari's kekkei genkai, something bad usually followed.

But before she could freak out, he told her that the solution was to perform the jutsu again.

"Okay, Hima, you do the seals and I'll give my chakra."

The siblings sat with the scroll spread out between them. It was a little past dusk and Himawari attempted to hide the occasional yawn. The earlier the better, Boruto told himself. It'd be no good if they messed up the timeline.

He placed his hand down once more, and Himawari weaved the hand seals as Boruto called them. The telltale surging of chakra coursed throughout his body and he waited for the purple glow. Sparks flew and shortly the tingling in his skin faded away. They sat still, waiting to return back home.

When nothing happened, Boruto gave a nervous chuckle and suggested that they tried again. So they did. They tried it forwards, backwards, sideways, anything, but nothing worked. There wasn't so much as a glow.

"I don't get it," Boruto scratched the back of his head after they had been sitting there for some time. "It's...it's not working."

"What?!" Himawari exclaimed, although the outcome had been growinf alongside each failed attempt. "B-But...how're we gonna get back home?!"

"Well, technically we are home. Right here. Just a few years back." Himawari looked ready to send him flying with an air palm. He was obviously confusing her and she'd only gotten a few hours of rest. Boruto attempted a smile, "And you know, that's a good thing."

"How? Mom'll see that we're not in our rooms a-and then—"

Boruto interjected, "First, I don't think that's how it works. In most movies," He continued thoughtfully, "No time passes between now and whenever we come back, so the only problem we have is how to get back."

"But this isn't a movie!" Himawari whined.

"Hima, if we went back in time, then we'd be living in past time, not our present time, which is technically the future time." He was piecing it together as he went to long, explaining it to himself more than his sister. And by the confused look on her face, he wasn't doing a good job. "Sorry, does that make sense?"

"Um yeah," She nodded her head slowly, face betraying her words. "Yeah I think I get it."

In actuality, Boruto knew that there were several ways this whole time travel thing could have panned out, but he was still adamant on keeping the situation as contained as possible. He'd worry about the actual logistics of it all later.

"And besides, we could've been transported to someplace like Kirigakure. You know how that village was in the past.l Her eyes widened in terror as Boruto continued reassuringly, "We know where everything is and we'll be home before you know it."

Mulling it over for a moment, Himawari nodded.

"Okay," He returned her nod. "There's gotta be something in the archives about this."

"Wouldn't the library be easier?

"Yeah, I guess but I doubt the library has information on Grandpa's jutsu. Plus someone might see us. The archives might be harder to get into but at least there'll be less people around.

"Maybe we wouldn't get caught in the library, though. I doubt anyone there has seen Dad before." He stood, tugging his jacket back on.

"Wait, you're leaving now?" She sounded worried.

"Yeah, you stay here."

She blanched, "No, but...What if someone sees me?"

His sister was right. The last thing he needed was Himawari being abducted by nosy villagers.

So he decided, "Alright. You can come with me. It's early enough so it should be easy to sneak around." He motioned for her to climb onto his back. Once she was secure, he ascended the trees that gradually gave way to rooftops.

At this hour, there were only a few shinobi out and about for their early morning missions, and that had been the only obstacle on their path.

Boruto dropped down into some bushes and peeked out through the leaves. The Hokage Tower wasn't far from view. It was just a straight shot there and then a search through the archives, piece of cake.

A finger jabbed into his side and he looked over at Himawari.

"Hey Boru?" She whispered. "Does the scroll look different to you?" Himawari had unfurled the item in question and laid it out on the grass. He'd figured so earlier but he guessed he wasn't imagining things after all. Everything on the scroll was in order except if he looked very closely, parts of the seals had faded.

He snatched the scroll away in alarm and inspected it closely, if the seals were broken then he couldn't perform the jutsu at all.

"It is different? Isn't it—" Boruto slapped a hand over her mouth. Footsteps.

Glancing out at the walkway, Boruto had to cover his own mouth to avoid yelping in surprise.

He watched as his Aunt Sakura—no, someone way younger— gingerly walked down the path. At their bush, she stopped and the pressure Boruto applied to his and Himawari's faces increased. The medic faltered in her step, stopping on the path. She gave a perplexed look to the left and to the right. They waited with baited breath as Sakura shrugged to herself and continued on her way.

When she was a good distance away, Boruto released his sister and let out a sigh of relief.

"Who was it?" Himwari asked.

He went back to scouting, responding, "Aunt Sakura. But she's a teenager now."

She echoed in bafflement, "'A teenager?'"

Saying no more, Boruto motioned for them to get going. They were more cautious from then on, taking every few feet to flit up a tree and watch for a moment or two before moving on. A straight shot of two minutes dragged on for ten.

Now, Boruto grimaced as they slipped inside the building, they had to maneuver the halls without getting caught. Which, surprisingly, was a much easier feat than the outside had been. Security in the Hokage Tower was low, and the building was practically abandoned. He suspected with all of the construction going on in the village and with regularly assigned missions, they were stretched.

They reached the door to the archives and Himawari bounced on her feet waiting for Boruto to undo the blood seal. He'd given her his jacket, but she couldn'tve been more comfortable than he was going barefoot all over the village.

The door granted him entrance and he pulled Himawari inside.

Taking one look at the contents of the dim room, Boruto realized he'd grossly underestimated the complication of this mission. What looked like hundreds of shelves lined the walls and filled the room, all fraught with what was probably thousands of scrolls

"Okay Hima," he whispered. "We'll split up. Look for anything on Grandpa and his teleportation jutsu."

She swiftly nodded and they worked through the files. By the time they'd gone through a single shelf, the two realized that the archives weren't in any type of order, or at least none that was easily recognizable outside the Hokage's personnel.

He'd thought he'd found a method to the madness, when Boruto felt faint chakra signatures approaching.

"Crap." He muttered under his breath. "Himawari, we gotta go."

"But I didn't find anything."

He hadn't either, but he quickly grabbed something, figuring anything from the archives would've been more useful than nothing.

The two left hastily, Boruto helping them down out of a window and they headed towards "home."

They were out of breath by the time they returned. More detours were necessary as the village was beginning to come to life, the early morning growing into the day.

They rolled the scrolls out on the ground and to their dismay, the original scroll wasn't looking any better. Now that they could get a better look, small cracks had begun to form on the seals while others looked like they were starting to fade. And to top it all off, the singular scroll that they had taken from the archives held nothing but a bunch of random shipping dates.

"So," Himawari began quietly. "What are we gonna do now?"

Their choices were dwindling down and Boruto wasn't really sure what to do next.

"We can try and rewrite the jutsu…" He suggested. "The seals are useless now that they're broken so maybe that would help."

"Some of the written parts of the jutsu are gone too. It's not a lot but…"

Boruto sighed heavily. This day had not been going as well as he had hoped, "Do you remember what it was?"

She shook her head, "Not really… There's so much. But," she perked up. "Daddy did write something about the Sharingan. Maybe Sasuke knows how to get us back."

"No, Sasuke wouldn't be in the village now, but that could help us." He sifted through his brain, trying to remember what Shino-sensei had taught them about it. The Sharingan. Not much was known about it thanks to Itachi Uchiha. With the eradication of the clan, the knowledge of the Sharingan went with it. They'd have to do some digging and unfortunately that meant they'd be there a lot longer than he planned.

…

Naruto stared at the ceiling for some time, watching shadows climb higher and higher.

He didn't know what to think.

Had one of his shadow clones gone rogue? He wondered first.

That wasn't possible. At least, he didn't think it was possible.

Besides if it were a clone, it looked...wrong.

Naruto was pretty sure that he'd perfected the jutsu and that he wasn't producing duds anymore. He began to wonder if his fight with Pain messed him up a lot more than he thought. Was something wrong with him?

The more he thought about it, the more confused he grew.

He sat up, slapping himself roughly.

Okay you're not going crazy, Naruto let out a breath. What you saw wasn't a clone. It was…

Just before he could get his thoughts in order, there was a knock on his window. He flinched, finding two figures hanging outside his window.

Naruto let out another breath, moving to let them in.

"Geesh, you guys. Almost gave me a heart attack."

Sakura and Sai filed inside his apartment, strangely quiet.

"So…" He eyed the both of them. "What's up?"

"We could ask you the same thing." Sakura replied evenly.

He blinked, "Uh, what're you talking—"

"Tonight." The medic clarified. "You were acting weird after you went to go chase that cat. You didn't say anything on the way home."

"What?" He laughed nervously. "Weird, I don't know what—"

Sakura silenced him with an eye roll, "You can cut the crap Naruto, I've known you long enough to know when you're lying through your teeth."

His fake laugh simmered down, "Heh, well you know me…"

"Come on Naruto. You've gotta tell us what you saw because obviously it was bad if you didn't report it right away."

Sai added, "I didn't really understand what Sakura hoped to gain by cornering you in your own home but she insisted."

"Yes thank you Sai," Sakura growled.

Naruto fell back onto his bed, attempting to stall for as long as possible, but his teammates were staring at him expectantly. He tousled his hair, "You guys are just gonna think that I'm crazy…"

"Not more so than usual," Sai smiled.

With a pointed glare towards the ex ANBU, Naruto relented, "Okay, but you can't tell Kakashi-sensei." He didn't know why, but telling their sensei just felt like a bad idea.

"Okay fine! Just tell us!"

Naruto sighed, crossing his legs as he told them, "I think I caught the person who was stealing from the archives."

Sakura gawked at him, "And you didn't think to tell us?!"

"Let me finish, will ya? Anyway, it's like, the person, they were… me?" At Sai's blank look and Sakura's disbelieving one, he clarified. "I mean maybe not me but someone who looks a lot like me? But a little kid. Maybe me as a kid? I don't know. I'm not really sure how it works."

Surprisingly, he felt a lot better having told someone about it. Now they could make sense of it because all it did was make his brain hurt.

Unfortunately, he realized having finished his explanation, his teammates probably wouldn't be the ones to do that.

Sakura blinked once, then twice, then a look of annoyance spread across her face, "That isn't funny Naruto. Just say you went off to Ichiraku and leave it at that."

"But I didn't. I told you what happened."

"That you were the one to steal the scrolls?"

"Not me me. A different me."

"See Sakura? I told you this would be a waste of time."

"Sai, would you just shut it—"

Naruto waved them off, "I knew you guys wouldn't believe me. I mean I barely believe it myself. But," he shrugged. "Why would I lie about something like that? I know I wasn't super excited about this mission but all missions are important, I guess in some way. So I wouldn't lie about this."

Sakura's expression softened, "You're...you're serious about this?"

"I honestly wish that I weren't."

"Fine," she nodded. "We'll help you."

He had just gone back to phase one, wondering if Konohamaru was just messing with him, but blinked in surprise, "You will?"

"Yeah, this could be serious, after all. What if someone is going around with a jutsu that impersonates people—"

"As kids," He added helpfully. "It was me as a kid."

"...Yes, people as kids." She shook her head. "If we're going to get to the bottom of this, you're going to have to tell us exactly what happened."

He nodded and began the retelling of the events of that night. Sakura and Sai listened wordlessly, faces unchanging, and they sat in silence when he finished.

"So?" He started anxiously. "What do you think?"

"What should we think?" Sakura mumbled. "Someone's out there impersonating you and happens to also be breaking into the archives."

"Did we consider that the two events could be strictly coincidence?" Sai mentioned.

"That would make things even worse," Sakura groaned. "It'd be nice if all our problems were just sourced to this one thing, and the odds are in our favor. Naruto's clone being near the Hokage Tower is too much of a coincidence."

Sai shrugged, "Perhaps. What should we do then?"

The pink haired shinobi crossed her arms, "Well we have to find them obviously."

"How exactly are we going to do that?"

Sakura didn't have an answer this time though. She glanced over at Naruto, giving him the floor.

"I mean… if I try hard enough, maybe I can find them with sage mode."

Sakura's eyes widened slightly, "You can do that?"

"Yeah," He said offhandedly. "With sage mode, so long as I've had a read on their chakra I can."

"But you weren't in sage mode when you were chasing after him, how do you know what their chakra signature is?"

Naruto cocked his head to the side in thought, "Well, when he dispelled my shadow clone, he sent chakra through it and then it just disappeared. It was weird but their chakra kind of stuck onto me for a while." He shivered just slightly. In fact, what should have been a blow for his clone to sustain, he felt it almost equally. He felt a pressure in his chest ever since, the strange chakra still lingering.

Sakura sighed, "Well we know one thing for sure: they're definitely shinobi if they have enough chakra control to take out one of your clones. We've got to stay on our toes going after whoever this is."

Naruto nodded firmly, for once not having anything to say to lighten the mood. Nothing about this situation sat right with him. This was all too strange. He absentmindedly rubbed at his chest. There had been this odd feeling that he'd gotten a few days prior, and this whole thing had only aggravated the sensation. But really, Naruto reasoned with himself, he'd been feeling all sorts of things since Pain.

He was probably just imagining things.

…

Unfortunately for you, my readers, I don't have a set chapter length for this story and they'll vary a lot. But, I try to keep each chapter as intriguing as possible and I hope that I'll be able to uphold that standard for the foreseeable future!

Don't forget to leave a review!


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the wait! This one and a few following it are a little on the long side… And to my Reviewers! As for your inquiries, don't worry! All shall be revealed in time…**

...

He'd majorly screwed up.

Boruto was quite sure that rule number one in accidentally-going-sixteen-years-in-the-past was do not, under any circumstances, run into your parents. He, of course, had been far too reckless, wanting to get as much information from the archives as he could, but that had been practically pointless as he _still_ hadn't cracked the system and _still_ hadn't found anything remotely useful.

Boruto, in retrospect, stupidly hadn't anticipated anyone finding out about the missing documents, his reasoning being that the tower was rarely occupied what with all the heightened attention towards other sections of the village.

But it was really just his luck that his father of all people was assigned to guarding the tower and ended up catching Boruto too. He knew his father was powerful (or whatever) but Boruto had sorely underestimated his tracking abilities.

There had been a momentary lapse in thought when his father had grabbed hold of him and they met face to face— another mistake on his part. When he regained cognitive thought, Boruto quickly took advantage of his father's confusion and made his escape. He travelled intricately around the village, doubling up on his trails and going in circles, just to shake any pursuing shinobi.

But after about an hour of sneaking around, he concluded that he was being pursued no longer.

As an extra precaution, he sat in a tree far away from where he and Himawari's camp. If memory served correctly, then his father would have just completed sage training, which definitely complicated things, but it had been almost two hours and there was nothing. If he had really wanted to find Boruto then he would have.

Taking a deep breath, he made his way back to camp, concealing his chakra as much as possible.

The past few days had gone by with little to no incident. He and Himawari had even gone through the village, gathering supplies they'd need if they were going to be living outside, incognito, and also, you know, food. They'd had to stop by several houses as to not grab so much from one place that suspicion was raised. (He assured Himawari that they'd return all of it when they got back).

As much as he disliked stealing from a bunch of the villagers, Boruto had needed shoes and weapons and the both of them needed things to survive the outdoors.

Himawari, on the other hand, was where the difficulty arose; she'd need a whole costume change evidently, because she was not, the ten year old told him, going to be stuck in just pajamas. But, Boruto pointed out, it wasn't like they were going shopping— random articles of clothing he had gotten would have to do. So while all he had to worry about was a pair of slightly oversized sandals, Himawari was stuck with clothes that swallowed her whole.

_"How come I have to wear all this stuff?" Himawari complained as her brother covered her hair with a scarf._

_"Because if someone sees you they'll know something's up and that you look way too much like Mom and Dad."_

_She adjusted the oversized coat, shuffling the sleeves around, "But you look exactly like Dad and you don't have to where all these clothes."_

_Boruto rolled his eyes, "Well which one of us is a highly trained shinobi?"_

_"Neither of us." Himawari said bluntly._

_Scowling, Boruto flipped her hood over her head._

After that, they were set and ready to get to work. Boruto made a promise to try his hardest to fix the jutsu and get as much information as he could. And each night before he left he told his sister that he wouldn't be long, she ought to wipe that worried look off her face, which she always had.

So as it turned out in the end he broke two promises: he'd gotten absolutely nothing and he was around two hours later than he usually was in getting back to Himawari. The remainder of his journey was spent thinking up with valid excuses and hoping that his sister hadn't gone out to find him.

"_No matter what happens, you stay here, got it?"_ He had told her.

Looking back, saying such a thing to her was pointless when she'd do it anyway.

He stumbled back into the clearing and, to his relief, saw the big white coat that was Himawari, sitting, knees gathered to her chest. It was good to see that she still had at least some faith in him after all this.

She looked up at the sudden noise and the tension in her shoulders released. His little sister ran into him, wrapping her arms tightly around under his middle. "You scared me." She sniffed.

He put a hand on her head comfortingly, "Just took a bit longer today. Sorry for making you worry."

Himawari released him and frowned slightly at not seeing a scroll in his hand, but it was all undermined by her intense look of concern, "What happened? You were gone for so long. Did you figure out what was going on in the archives?"

He shook his head, "No…"

"Well what happened?"

He avoided her gaze, trying to sound nonchalant, "I uh… kinda ran into Dad."

"Boruto!" She squeaked. "That's bad isn't it?!"

He nervously laughed, "Well kinda… maybe."

She scowled and her resemblance to their mother in that moment was quite frightening. Boruto flicked her forehead, "Relax, Hima. He didn't really react or anything bad so I think it's okay." He nodded self assuredly, "If we're lucky he'll think it's a hallucination from eating too much ramen."

He made his way back to their clearing, sifting through the bag of things they'd "borrowed."

"Boruto?" Himawari asked softly. "Do you think… do you think we messed up?"

He opened up a bag of chips, wanting to focus on satiating his hunger rather than the seriousness of the situation. But it was a legitimate question.

They'd been there for five days. He couldn't help but wonder if time was moving normally back in the present, if Mom or Dad had found them missing. The uproar it would cause, the widespread panic that would ensue... Boruto nervously bit his lip.

Until tonight, they'd managed to stay hidden, not even leaving the area until the sun set. Now Boruto had ruined their streak in the worst possible way. He stuffed the chips into their pack, appetite lost.

He considered the other side of Himawari's question. Naruto finding Boruto was sure to have set off some sort of cosmic disturbance, but nothing had happened.

"Well, we should be alright, I think. We probably would've exploded or disappeared or something if we really weren't supposed to see Dad." If things _had_ been altered in such a way that affected their present, they'd cease to exist, at least that's what the movies said. At the moment, they were still pretty alive. A bit sleep deprived and on a diet of stale potato chips and river water, but alive nonetheless.

"Yeah," he said more confidently. "We're still here so, it's okay."

Himawari nodded, looking a little more settled.

Boruto forced another smile, "But we might want to go somewhere else in the morning. Just to be safe."

"Alright." She mumbled. Boruto gave her a sideways glance. She hadn't been getting much rest these past few days and he'd only taken away a couple more hours with tonight's slip up.

"Get some sleep Himawari," Boruto pulled the straps of their bag around his arms.

She stepped towards him, "Are you going to work on the jutsu some more?"

"Yep, how else are we gonna leave?"

"I wanna help!" She offered eagerly. "Ooh can I? Please Boruto?"

He shook his head, "Sorry little sister, no can do. You've got to get rest."

"But you need rest too!" The ten year old insisted.

"Sure but I can handle a few days without sleep, Hima." At her expression he relented, "I won't stay up too long. Promise."

"...Kay…" She kicked at the ground.

"Night!" He called, ascending a tree.

"Night…"

Boruto sat at the top of the tree, scroll rolled out in front of him. Working up here ensured that Himawari wasn't distracted but what he was doing— or really, what he _wasn't_ doing. Five days in and out of the Hokage's archives and empty promises to Himawari didn't give him answers in how to fix a jutsu.

He'd tried just connecting the faded lines of the seals, but the paper must have been cursed because all it did was erase more of the seal. When that approach was a bust, he'd tried rewriting the entire jutsu on a new scroll.

Boruto had been pretty confident with that attempt. He'd even gotten Himawari prepared to perform hand seals again. However, that was about as far as they got. Halfway in, he'd felt the slightest pull at his chakra and then there was nothing. In fact, right after Boruto pulled his hand away from the seal, the new scroll ignited into flames, burning away to ash.

That was yesterday night's attempt. Himawari had seemed even more discouraged and he'd quickly promised that something in the archives would give them answers, all they had to do was keep trying.

It was a lot easier said than done.

Boruto had nothing. No more ideas, no more loopholes. Their chance of returning home was starting to look hopeless...

He shook his head. There was no way Boruto would let his nerves get the better of him. There was always another way. Biting his lip, he scanned the original scroll for the umpteenth time.

There always was another way. He just hadn't found it yet.

…

Boruto blinked himself awake. The early morning sun shone in his eyes, making him wince. He rolled his shoulders. Sleeping in a tree would never be comfortable.

He looked down below him and saw that Himawari had gone. Probably to the river before they had to leave, he deduced.

Boruto rubbed at his eyes, willing exhaustion away. Another fruitless night. He stared grimly at the scroll and rolled it back up.

His movements were slow and had only gotten more sluggish as the days went on, but he paid no mind. He could rest, Boruto had decided, when they got back home.

The blond descended the tree and stuck the scroll underneath its winding roots. Boruto covered it with dead leaves and undergrowth as an afterthought.

He was stretching his taut muscles when his ears picked up the sound of water sloshing and metal hitting the ground. His senses peaked and he turned in its direction.

_Himawari and three other chakra signatures._

Shit.

"Himawari!" He called, heart racing. What if something had happened to her? His palpitations practically skyrocketed at this thought.

Boruto ran towards the river trying to focus on the sound of running water rather than how the trees were practically spinning around him. Shaking away the rapid beating of his heart and the sleep deprivation, he continued forward. He needed to get to Himawari.

He finally caught sight of her backside and ran straight for her, and one of the worst possible scenarios played out in front of him as their father stood in front of Himawari.

His sister was frozen, not daring to make a move. He shot to her side.

"Boru—!" The genin slapped a hand over her mouth and shoved her behind him. She clenched onto his jacket, burying her face into the material. They'd really stepped in it now.

After a quick check to make sure she was alright he dared to face his father— a much younger version.

Boruto had pulled a kunai and held it in front of them protectively. However, Naruto didn't seem threatened.

"I knew it," He finally spoke. "I knew I wasn't crazy. You, I saw you last night, didn't I?"

Boruto tightened his grip on his kunai.

"I did! See, I thought about it for a long time and I knew you couldn't be a shadow clone. And I almost didn't get a read on your chakra but when I did, I knew you weren't me, our signatures are different."

Boruto blinked as he rambled. Why did he seem so excited?

"B-But…" A voice tinged with disbelief came from the trees. "Who are you and why do you look so much like Naruto?"

He flinched, finding Aunt Sakura—the second signature— coming down from her hiding spot. The pink haired medic didn't seem as relaxed as her teammate, she looked almost too flabbergasted to speak.

Boruto felt like a cornered animal and he didn't like it one bit. The two were just staring at him and… hold on. Hadn't there been three—

Faster than the blink of an eye, the tip of a sword was brought only inches away from his face.

"Sai! What the hell?"

Boruto gulped, glancing up at the stone features of Inojin's father. He looked much more serious now than he did back in the present, and the eerie smile that slipped onto his face made it even worse.

"You say that this was who has been stealing scrolls from the Hokage's archives, right? Well it's our duty to capture them."

"Hold on, can't we just talk—"

Boruto squeezed Himawari's wrist before swinging her onto his back and sprinting away.

"Hey! Wait!—"

He'd summoned a few shadow clones in hopes of throwing them off. Sage mode required a lot of concentration and there was no way Naruto could track them without it. Hopefully he'd bought them some time.

He had to take to the streets as his father's team remained hot on his tail. He mounted the tops of buildings and slipped through alleys, not minding that he was being more than careless about his visibility. He had to get he and Himawari away from their father at all costs.

Boruto leapt off a rooftop and into the clearing below it, intending to retreat in the forest just ahead. But as he fell through the air, the clearing proved to be not so clear after all, as a girl strolled out from the shadows. She sensed his presence and they both locked eyes in alarm as he fell straight towards her.

Luckily he was able to land just short of being right on top of her and he sighed in relief, but colored significantly having been face to face with her chest.

"S-Sorry!" He immediately stammered. "I-I didn't—" The blond looked up at the girl in question and deduced that fate was truly at war with him. Himawari's grip had tightened in fear, and Boruto found himself frozen, both he and his much younger mother sporting identical blushes.

"N-Naruto?" She was clearly startled by he and Himawari's sudden arrival, not to mention their near identicalness to the village's hero. Not long after that, the actual Naruto caught up with Sakura in tow.

"Huh?" Hinata's confusion only grew. "What's going on?"

"Hey!" Sakura suddenly exclaimed. Before Boruto could recover from the utter embarrassment of the whole situation, a fist was brought down onto his head.

"What, you're a thief _and_ a pervert?"

Boruto was reeling, more stunned than anything.

"Are you alright?" Sakura came to Hinata's side. She could only nod, staring wide eyed at the young children.

"Now," Sakura glared down at Boruto. "We've got you surrounded so you'd better explain what the hell is going on."

Boruto glanced around, looking for a way out but with the three strategically placed around them, he was trapped.

"Hey hey, calm down Sakura," Naruto spoke up. "They're just kids. Look at them, they're terrified."

Boruto was not afraid but decidedly kept his mouth shut.

"Naruto," she sighed. "They stole from the village. They had access to highly sensitive information. I know they're kids but they committed a crime."

"Hm, maybe," Naruto hummed thoughtfully. He looked down at Boruto and Himawari, leaning in closely to examine them. "But you two do look a lot like me. What are you trying to do? Frame me?"

Boruto's face screwed up in confusion. Why anyone would ever willingly look like his father was beyond him.

Naruto pulled at Boruto's hair. The twelve year old quickly swatted his hand away, "_Ow_! What the hell are you doing?"

"Wait a sec… you're not in a transformation." He jumped back. "You actually look like _me_. Who even are you two?"

Sakura shook her head, "That was the original question remember?"

Boruto had involuntarily glanced back over to Hinata whose hands were gathered to her bandaged chest. He faltered; she was hurt?

He should've expected the pink haired medic to take his concern the wrong way because a moment later he was holding his throbbing head once more.

"Quit staring at her like that! What's the matter with you?"

"I wasn't—"

Before anything else could be said, they were joined by Sai and Kakashi.

"Hang on now Sakura," the silver haired shinobi droled, "We don't want to give them permanent brain damage do we?"

The kunoichi blanched, stammering, "Kakashi-sensei! I-I—"

"Save it," he waved lazily. "I'll deal with you two's punishment later."

She opened her mouth to say something but clearly thought better of it, lowering her head in shame. Seeing Sakura subdued gave Boruto the smallest sense of satisfaction before he remembered how much trouble he was in.

"So these are our thieves." Kakashi blinked at the two. "Not much, huh?"

He balled his fists indignantly but released them again. Kakashi had all the right and definitely the power to take him out right then and there. As far as anyone knew, Boruto and Himawari could've been a threat to the entire shinobi world. It was best to stay calm and not give them the wrong use.

"Way to keep a secret, Sai," Naruto huffed. Kakashi's gaze flicked towards him, "Frankly, I should have you thrown in jail, Naruto. I don't think you realize how serious this is. I suggest you keep quiet. Sai," He nodded towards Boruto. "Get their things."

The ex ANBU lifted Boruto up by his bag, leaving him kicking in the air. "Hey, put me down!" Sai did as asked and shook him loose of the bag, sifting through its contents. He gathered each of the stolen scrolls and presented them to Kakashi, "These appear to be all the missing contents of the archives."

"Take those to evidence, would you?"

Sai nodded and smiled at Naruto, "Sorry. I figured the odds were much more favorable if I told Kakashi."

"Favorable for you," Naruto muttered as Sai disappeared from sight.

"Okay, yeah I took the scrolls," Boruto admitted. "But I promise I was gonna give them back."

"While I appreciate your admittance," Kakashi fixe him with an icy glare. "Your word means nothing to me and I'll be taking you into Konoha's custody now."

Himawari's grip on his arm tightened. Some big brother he was. He was supposed to have been protecting her from this very situation. He analyzed his options once more: fleeing would get them nowhere with Kakashi here, and then fleeing would lead to fighting and fighting Kakashi would be a tragic mistake. They may have been from the future but Kakashi was still as deadly a killer as he was in any timeline.

"Fine," he muttered.

"Huh? Wait!" Naruto spluttered. "I'm coming too!"

Boruto suppressed a groan. At least when they took them away, they'd put some distance between themselves and their parents. Unfortunately for them, their father was an interesting case.

"We'll be going to the Hokage's quarters now." The masked shinobi told him, ignoring Naruto. He dropped a hand down on Boruto's shoulder, who chances one last look at his mother before they disappeared from the clearing.

Something had been off.

…

"I can wait all day you know."

Boruto stood in front of Kakashi, head lowered and Himawari still glued to his side. They'd been questioning him for about half an hour now, but he stayed silent. There was no telling what he'd accidentally let slip. Kakashi was one of the greatest shinobi in Konoha. Nothing would go unnoticed. The only break they had caught was that Tsunade was unavailable, though Boruto wondered how much they benefited from that.

And Naruto staring at them like circus animals definitely didn't help the situation. Boruto could practically feel his restlessness.

_What an idiot…_

"I'd say I was being pretty reasonable." Kakashi shrugged. "You committed a major crime and all I ask in return is your name and why you're here."

When Boruto remained silent, the silver haired shinobi groaned, "Well I've got better things to do than babysit some kids. And that includes you Naruto,"

"Hey…"

He waved him off (Kakashi did that a lot, Boruto noted. So he _had_ always been perpetually bored) "Could you go get Ino or Inoichi if he's around? I've never had the patience for interrogation. We'll just let them find what we want."

That was definitely something that could not happen. Boruto had to retain as much control of the situation as he could. He took a deep breath, "Okay. I'll...I'll tell you."

"I'm glad we could make this easy," Kakashi responded. "Now. Names."

He had to think over that one. He couldn't lie, Naruto and his team had already heard him calling Himawari's name and his sister nearly let his name slip. With the idiot standing around them now, it made lying more difficult than Boruto wanted to deal with.

"Boru." He settled. (His creativity fell short in times of pressure)

"Hm. And your little companion?"

"Himawari." He answered.

"Boru and Himawari. A little young to be out an about without your parents, don't you think?"

"I'm a _genin_."

"Oh really?" Kakashi sounded unimpressed.

Boruto pulled out his headband and held it out for examination.

Now, Boruto could see that Kakashi's interest was at least roused, "So you're from Konohagakure."

"Yeah so you don't need to treat us like prisoners."

"No, that makes you traitors. Treason is still high up there on the scale."

"I swear I was gonna return it." He muttered.

"That brings me to my next question," Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest. "How did you get into the archives? The door is guarded with a seal that only allows the Hokages and their closest personnel. How is it that two children were able to break in."

"Look," He needed to make one thing clear, "It was just me. I was the only one who stole from the archives. Don't punish Himawari."

"I admire your sibling loyalty but just answer the question."

"I…" Really he hadn't thought about how he was able to get in. Back in the present, Naruto's blood had been added to the seal, which made it so that Boruto could get in. But now, his father was just a teenager— a genin, at that. About as far away from Hokage as one could get.

That's when he remembered Grandpa Minato, and his cover story formed.

"Namikaze." Both Naruto and Kakashi started. "My name's Boru Namikaze. I'm...We're related to the Fourth Hokage… I think. It's a distant relation."

"You guys are related to my dad?" Boruto could hear the shock in his voice but didn't dare to face him. He gave a single nod.

Kakashi stared at him as if he was searching for a lie. He wouldn't find one, luckily.

Naruto didn't let up, "Then you guys are like… like family?"

"Distant." Boruto clarified coolly.

"What was your purpose for breaking into the archives?"

"I…" His little story, while gaining him a few trust points, hadn't compensated for his reasoning behind going into the archives in the first place. "I wanted to… to learn more about the Fourth. They say he was a pretty phenomenal shinobi… I just wanted to learn a bit about him I guess." It was a lame excuse but all he had at the moment. He anxiously watched Kakashi, searching for a look of acceptance.

"You wanted to know about my dad?"

"I'm fine without the echo, _thanks_." Boruto snapped irritably.

"Hey, brat—"

"Naruto this is serious. If you're going to do nothing but argue with them, you can leave."

Kakashi addressed Boruto, "While I don't trust you, not in the slightest, I don't see you as much of a threat either. So after we put you through holding, analyze all your belongings, organize a suitable consequence, we'll send you straight back to wherever you came from."

_If only…_

"Where did you guys come from?" Naruto interrupted again. Boruto's irritance was increasing by the minute, and he all but cursed his father when Kakashi responded, "That _is_ a good question."

"Um…" Boruto began. "We left. I mean, uh... our parents sent us here."

"They what? How could they just do that?" Naruto exclaimed.

"It wasn't their fault, okay? But we can't go back." He looked at Kakashi for a response.

The shinobi closed his eyes and thought, sighing heavily, "So you're stuck with us. Fine, we could always use more manpower."

"'Manpower?' What—"

"Listen up kid, I've got a proposition for you two and I'll take it up with Lady Tsunade when she gets back. You can either 'A' be put thrown in prison," Boruto could feel Himawari flinch. "Or 'B' you can work."

"Work?"

"Look who's the echo now," Naruto scoffed.

Kakashi ignored his student and clarified, "Yep. Work. I'll 'let you go' under the pretenses that you both go on missions under Konoha and help the village with whatever's needed around here for I dunno a month or two?"

"Would we get paid?" Boruto asked. He didn't think he could eat another chip ever, and stealing was no longer an option.

"Of course not. You're on probation."

"Well how are we gonna buy stuff we need?"

"How were you getting it before?" Kakashi's eyes narrowed. Boruto averted his gaze.

The silver haired shinobi cocked his head, "What did you two expect to do this whole time? Not work, live in the woods, and steal from us?"

Boruto remained silent.

Kakashi let out another sigh, "We'll give you a screening later. I'm sure Lady Tsunade would like to have a word with you. Right now I'm not particularly interested in doing all that. Until we do… let's see… Naruto," the blond looked up. "They'll stay with you then. I'd rather have all the trouble makers in one place."

"What!?" Both father and son shouted in unison.

"Is prison still an option?" Boruto asked.

He could tell Kakashi was grinning underneath his mask, "Nope. I think this will serve as good a punishment as any."

"Kakashi-sensei, what the hell?"

"As their guardian for the time being, keep them out of trouble?"

Naruto glanced at the two, who'd considerably paled, before turning to his sensei, "Yeah. I'll take them in."

…

The two kids sitting in Naruto's bedroom floor did nothing but sit and stare at the ground.

Geesh, Naruto scratched his head. They sure were disciplined.

Upon arrival they immediately took off their shoes and lined them against the wall, giving him a look when he just kicked them off.

They hadn't gotten off on a good note, seeing as the little one in the hood looked beyond terrified when he found her in the woods and hadn't so much as looked him in the eye. Not to mention the blond one was just as… _spirited_ as he was, which Naruto pretended to be annoyed about.

In actuality though, Naruto wanted to know everything about them. They were his family after all, and now they were living at his house. This was all he had ever wanted. He couldn't help but be a little excited.

"Yeah it's kinda small," He gestured around his apartment. "But you know, make yourselves comfy."

They stayed silent. That little bit was bordering on irritating but they'd been living outside for who knows how long. They needed time.

(Naruto was not that good at waiting, unfortunately.)

"You can take your hood off in here," He spoke to Himawari. "It can get pretty warm."

Naruto noted the way her head turned to her brother. He responded for her, "She's fine."

"Okay then…well…" He brightened with an idea. If they were related to him, they must like all the stuff he liked, right? "Are you guys hungry? I can go get some ramen!"

His theory was disproved as he saw the visible disgust on Boru's face. He was about to suggest something else when Himawari tugged on her brother's sleeve, giving him a pleading look.

Naruto smiled, "I knew one of you had to like ramen."

She gave him the tiniest of smiles before looking back at the floor.

"What'll it be?" He prompted. "There's all kinds to choose from!"

She looked like she was deciding whether or not to answer and when her brother gave no indication as to what she should do, Himawari quietly responded, "Miso ramen… with chashu pork, please."

He had to strain to hear her and Naruto couldn't help but note that she was quieter than even Hinata, but he grinned all the same, "That's my absolute favorite! We _must_ be related."

Then Himawari's face shifted into something that almost looked like discomfort. Was he being too _him_ again? He'd been told he'd needed to work on how enthusiastic he was around new people. It was "overwhelming," as Sakura had scolded.

"You guys are probably tired and all from being outside for so long," Boru gave him such a deadpan expression that Naruto was reduced to nervous laughter. He cleared his throat, "I'll go and get us some ramen, and you guys can stay here. If you get hungry or anything there's um… well, ramen, but there's never such a thing as too much ramen, heh…"

The two did not look amused.

Gathering up what remained of his ego he bid the two farewell and promised he'd be right back, though he could tell they weren't too concerned.

For the first time in his life he finally had real blood family. And so far, they weren't his biggest fans.

If there was one thing Naruto knew, it was that he was great at making friends. These two should be a piece of cake before long.

(Right?)

…

"What are we gonna do now?" Himawari asked a few moments after the door had shut.

He didn't respond immediately, more so, he _couldn't_.

What _were_ they going to do?

They'd taken all of their things. Well, they'd taken back the scrolls they had borrowed and Boruto's notes on the jutsu. The original scroll, thankfully, was still safely hidden in the woods. But now that their cover had been blown, getting the things he needed would require unnecessary explanations and that meant more lying on his part than he knew he was able to keep up with. So, it seemed, they'd have to do things in secret.

"I'm gonna go get the scroll." The most tactful approach would have been to wait until everything died down but chances were that the forest would be swept for any incriminating evidence against them.

"I'll come—"

"You stay here in case Dad comes back." _Naruto_, he corrected mentally.

Himawari glanced around the apartment distastefully, "Daddy wasn't very clean was he?"

"He's a teenager who lives on his own, of course he wasn't." Boruto scoffed.

Himawari followed him to the door and crouched beside him as he put his sandals on.

"Boru...do you really think we're gonna be alright?"

"Course I do," He told her, frowning at how much room his feet had. "I mean, there's no reason it wouldn't."

"We were supposed to stay away from Mom and Dad, but we didn't. Both of them saw us and a whole bunch of other people. What happens if they find out?"

He regarded her for a moment, chuckling, "When did you get to worrying so much?"

She kept her eyes on her feet and Boruto sighed, "Like I said, we'll be fine. They won't find out. But we have to remember: they're not our parents here. Not yet at least. A sure fire way for things to go completely wrong is if you up and call Dad 'Dad.'"

"Yeah I know…"

"Then so long as you keep your head covered, no one should suspect anything, okay?"

She pulled at the hood instinctively, "Keep it on the entire time?"

"Yep, it might be hard but that's your mission. No one here can see your hair; I don't know how I'd be able to explain that."

She nodded and said more to herself than him, "If they see me, they'll know. Mom and Dad… then we might not exist…"

"Exactly," Boruto stood and opened the door.

"Hima," He called over his shoulder, "You don't need to worry. After all, this is our village. We'd be okay no matter what."

And he really hoped that much was true.

…

The village was definitely a lot different up close. Everything looked so old fashioned. But, he couldn't deny that it was still as lively as ever come night time. Street vendors called out to walking women, men stumbled drunkenly out of unfinished bars. It still felt like home, just different.

Boruto kept to the shadows because although he and his sister had been found out, there was no telling how the villagers would react upon seeing someone so closely resembling their precious "hero." Boruto rolled his eyes, passing another group of girls, gossiping about his father. Maybe if they saw how messy his apartment was, they'd shut up about him.

A couple with their child walked past Boruto's hiding spot and he couldn't help but listen in on their conversation.

"I don't know if we should stay here any longer." The woman cradling her baby confided to her husband.

"Haruki, you're just being paranoid. The village is back and better than ever thanks to that Naruto."

She sighed, "I know but, so much has happened in the past few weeks. First Danzo tried to attempt a coup and then the Akatsuki came and attacked the village? I don't know if I want Mei growing up in this. Maybe we'd be safer in the country."

Her husband let out a hearty laugh, looking down at their daughter, "Yeah it's not ideal, but times are changing. The Tanakas are not a family to run from a threat. Little Mei here might get the wrong idea if we go fleeing to the country away from all the action."

"You're not even a shinobi," Haruki sighed.

"Eh," her husband shrugged. "The life of owning a business isn't too exciting or safe, but I've got faith that if we stay here, things'll start looking up. We've got one of the legendary Sanin as our Hokage, and, I know you're doubtful but, I'm putting my money on the Uzumaki kid."

Haruki sighed once more and pulled her husband along, "You're a terrible gambler, dear…"

Boruto rose from his hiding spot, dusting himself off. He'd hate to break it to Haruki, but her husband just might prove her wrong.

Tanaka, Boruto thought of their last name, sure he recognized it as one of the corporate powerhouses in present day Konoha. (Yeah, a little more trust in her husband would go a long way.)

He moved along the back streets, heading for the forest. The village was starting to look busier, despite the attack not too long ago. Somehow, he remembered that from Shino-sensei's lessons.

"_After the Akatsuki attack, there had been a surprising influx of people due to the popularity of one—"_

That was about where Boruto stopped listening to _that_ lecture, opting to stare out the window.

Something had been off though, Boruto was growing to realize. From the time they were interrogated to the couple's conversation a moment prior, something was wrong. He just couldn't seem to place what it was.

Shaking that insecurity off, Boruto leapt through the trees. He did like this part of the village, surprisingly. Konoha wasn't nearly as big now but it was somewhat cozier having forests this close to home. He could actually see the stars and the light that they bathed the trees in.

Boruto had set a steady momentum as he hopped from branch to branch, going over the revised plan in his head.

Since they had been caught, the village would soon know of their presence, there was no escaping that. He'd be Boru Namikaze, descendant of the Fourth, living in the village because his parents had sent them away due to circumstances unknown to the public.

The fact that they had been discovered would present a few problems, but at least now he'd have access to the library now that the archives were out of the question without seeming suspicious, which wasn't as good as the highly detailed information they had access to but he had to make do. He'd fix the seals and then he and Himawari would—

The tree in front of him exploded in bright, blue light just as he was about to land. He fell back in alarm, just barely being able to grasp onto a branch before he hit the ground.

Boruto shakily pulled himself up, eyes scanning for a threat.

"Isn't it past your bedtime?"

Boruto flinched, looking up. Kakashi stood in his own tree, lazily looking down at him.

"I was just… Himawari left something out here and asked me to find it."

"Is that so?" Kakashi faked intrigue. He stepped off the branch and was gone. Before Boruto could even process, the silver haired shinobi in the next tree over.

"I don't know if I made this clear but I don't trust you. Not you or your sister." Boruto refrained from looking rattled, standing his ground. Despite his countenance, Kakashi still spoke with the same disinterested lilt in his voice, "You're not out of the clear, I'll have you know. We're not as stupid as you think."

Boruto tensed as Kakashi's voice now came from a different location, "I've got eyes on you at all times. Whether it be mine or someone else's." The jonin appeared a foot in front of him, "You may be kids, but I can see through your charade. It's obvious that you're more capable than you make yourself appear, but I don't have any evidence against you yet so," He shrugged. "I'll allow Naruto time with his…" Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "'Family.' But make no mistake, if you do anything that threatens the safety of this village, I have no problem handling you personally."

Lightning cracked around Kakashi's pocketed hands and Boruto almost couldn't believe that this was the lackluster sensei his father had told him so much about. Hell, Kakashi in the future could barely be bothered to be in the village.

Boruto was suddenly aware of the trunk against his back and realized that Kakashi had gotten under his skin after all. So much for looking brave.

"Now," Kakashi stood up straight, disposition suddenly smiley again. "Let's get you back home, huh? Himawari will have to make do without whatever it is that she lost. It's far too late for a child to be out."

He clapped a hand on Boruto's shoulder and he could practically feel the echoes of Kakashi's murderous promise. So he stayed silent, the future Hokage taking them in the opposite direction of his father's scroll.

One day he'd learn to stop underestimating these shinobi of Konoha's past.

...


	4. Chapter 4

**So once again school and work have prohibited me from updating in a timely manner, apologies! Thank you to all my new followers for sticking with me!**

...

Two days into Naruto and the Namikazes' arrangement led Naruto to one conclusion: living with people was much more difficult than he thought.

He'd lived on his own for his entire life and rarely even hosted people in his home for more than a few hours at a time. Now, he had people living with him in his small one bedroom apartment for the foreseeable future, but not just anyone. _Kids_. He came to realize in those short two days that kids were much more of a hassle than anyone he had ever dealt with.

The first night had been awkward, as Kakashi made an impromptu visit with Boru in tow and that really didn't look too good on his part as his guardian. So after his sensei took his leave— not before divvying out Naruto's punishment: no missions for two weeks— the younger blond had been in an even pissier and barely graced Naruto with a grumble.

Himawari was a little better if it weren't for the fact that she seemed almost scared of him. While he knew she wasn't aware, Naruto could tell that she tried to be as far away from him as possible when he was around, and more often than not, hid behind her older brother, who, if he hadn't stressed this enough, was kind of a jerk. But every day, at least, it seemed like she was warming up to him at least a little. She'd be a bit more inclined to talk and just a little less skittish.

But other than adapting to their personalities, being their guardian warranted that he be _responsible_ for them— something Naruto wasn't renowned for being. Himawari looked too young to be a genin and Boru seemed to be right at it. While he had "taken care of" himself for 16 years, these kids had been reliant on parents, which meant that he'd have to step up, and at least _try_ to be a functional caretaker.

But he hadn't really been doing so hot these past few days. In fact, when he was prompted about breakfast, they nearly keeled over when he offered them ramen— it was the only thing he had. They had both begrudgingly indulged in slurping down noodles for two days in a row. He'd wanted to make a good impression on his cousins and so far it was looking like he was at a solid two out of ten.

Naruto mulled over this fact at lunch the next day.

"_Ehem_."

He was very pointedly roused from his thoughts. Ino stared back at him questioningly, while Shikamaru regarded him with a lazy yet curious expression. Choji, as always, was too engrossed in his meal to really notice.

"Hm? Oh sorry, did you say something?"

Ino sighed, leaning back in her seat, "I know it's not ramen, Naruto, but I would think you'd do more than just poke at your food for fifteen minutes."

He blinked, "Huh? Oh, heh, sorry. Just lost in thought is all."

While barbecue wasn't his favorite, he was more than willing to indulge in the food, especially if Team 10 was offering to pay.

Shikamaru scoffed, "You don't hear that everyday. What's on your mind Naruto?"

The blond faltered as his friends now all gazed at him quizzically.

"Um, well," He rubbed the back of his neck, laughing nervously, "It's kinda hard to explain right now."

He wasn't so sure how thrilled Boru and Himawari would be if he made them the new village spectacle.

Choji gulped down a cut of meat before asking, "Does it have anything to do with your suspension?"

Naruto wilted, being thrown into a sour mood all over again. Kakashi could've chosen any other punishment in the world but instead he chose the _worst_ one. Naruto was practically dying of cabin fever already.

"You could say that..." He groaned sadly.

"What did Team 7 do that was so bad?" Ino wondered aloud. "Kakashi-sensei has Sakura running all over the village as his personal assistant or something and you can't take any missions? And how come Sai doesn't seem to have any punishment?"

Naruto rolled his eyes at her last inquiry. While he and Sai were on better terms nowadays, the ex ANBU was still getting used to the idea of squad loyalty.

However, he wasn't sure how to answer the question regarding the reason why—well, _two_ reasons why they were being punished. Naruto didn't know if Boru and Himawari were supposed to be kept secret— Boru seemed intent on staying in the apartment; maybe he and Kakashi had discussed the matter when he'd snuck out— but Naruto didn't want to risk adding time to their punishment for giving out classified information.

So instead he shrugged, stuffing his face with barbecue. Team 10 exchanged a look before forgetting the matter entirely.

Returning home later that evening, he had a sneaking suspicion that he wasn't doing too well in winning Boru and Himawari over.

He'd come in, loudly announcing that he was back and brought them some barbecue back, but he didn't know what they liked so…

Only one out of the two filed into the kitchen—not his biggest fan, either— as quiet as a ghost, appraising the take-out in his hands with a suspicious glance.

"Don't worry, it's really good," He tried smiling, but it fell flat as the distrust didn't leave his cousin's eyes. Naruto slowly placed the bag on the small table that stood between them, and just as slowly, Boru reached for the bag mumbling a "thanks" and they stood in awkward silence.

"Is Himawari okay?"

"She's fine." Boru seemed bothered that he even asked.

"Oh, that's good. If you guys need anything don't hesitate to ask—"

"Sure," Boru cut him off, escaping to the back room.

How was he not supposed to feel like a failure after that?

To make matters even worse on his part, upon entering his room, he was bombarded by his comforter, suspended from the ceiling, successfully dividing the room in half. He had given them his bed, but was it really all that necessary for them to partition the room off? He fought off a defeated sigh and headed up to the roof until later.

(He could take a hint or two.)

The quiet night and crisp autumn air did nothing to uplift his already sunken mood and later, not even ramen helped.

"Naruto my boy, what's got you so down?" Teuchi prodded. Thankfully, Ichiraku was open late into the night, his savior on many a sleepless night. The little shack didn't hole many visitors at night and Naruto wondered if they stayed open so late because of his erratic sleep schedule.

"It's nothing," Naruto managed a small smile.

"'Nothing?'" Ayame echoed from where she was preparing another bowl of ramen. "You've been here for twenty minutes and you haven't even finished your first bowl!"

This was becoming a trend as of late apparently. If he didn't get his situation in order then his appetite was surely going to suffer. Naruto relented, "You've got a point…"

Before the father and daughter could prod him any further, a familiar face stumbled in, collapsing onto a seat.

"Ka...Kakashi wants… a bowl… of his usual…" Sakura panted.

Teuchi chuckled hardily, already preparing the order, "Kakashi sure does have you on your toes these days, doesn't he? And so late too!"

Sakura pushed the pink locks off her neck and groaned, "That's not even half of it, the man's a sadist."

Ayame consolingly poured her a glass of water as Sakura flopped her head down onto the counter. After taking a long swig, Naruto's teammate finally seemed to take notice of him and her eyes narrowed, "How are you enjoying your time off?"

"Terribly, thanks."

Sakura dropped her biting temperament and adopted a questioning one instead. She moved over to the stool next to him, quietly asking, "How's it going with them?"

"Well, they hate me." Naruto responded tartly, paying no attention to his volume.

Sakura grew even more concerned, "Why's that?"

"Beats me," He stabbed at his noodles. "Seems like they've hated me ever since we met and how is _that_ fair?"

"Well…" Sakura thought. "They're kids. And they're in a new place with all new people. You can't expect them to like you right off the bat."

"But we're family," His brows furrowed in frustration. "Family is _supposed_ to like you. Right? I…" He pushed his bowl aside, "I don't know how this stuff works."

"That's alright," Sakura said softly. "Family is complicated at best, even I'm not used to it." She suddenly sounded optimistic, more for his sake than hers. "Maybe try doing something that _they_ want to do rather than making them do the things _you_ want to do. Like training and coming here and eating ramen. Has anything peaked their interest?"

Naruto shrugged off handedly, "Probably not. They haven't really left my apartment since they got here."

"Naruto!" Now Sakura's voice was berating. "You're not being serious are you? You can't just leave kids inside all day!"

He knew saying "yes" was not the response that Sakura wanted to hear, but it wasn't like he _willingly_ left them inside all day or anything. He'd offered to take them around the village, but every time he asked, there'd be the annoyed "no" from Boru, that left Naruto more than a little irritated, but there wasn't much he could do after that, so he left them alone.

"No..." He settled on instead.

Sakura unsurprisingly saw through his facade and could only sigh, "Okay Naruto, how about this: you tell them that they can come with you to help with me with some of Kakashi-sensei's errands—"

"What errands?" He gave her a sideways glance, "Are you sure you're not just being lazy and asking me and two kids to help you?"

"Would you shut up? _You'd_, and by you I mean me, give them a chance to breathe fresh air for the first time in days." She gave him a pointed look and continued. "Anyway, you tell them that they can—"

"Sakura, I can't _tell_ these kids anything. They barely respect me as it is."

Teuchi placed Sakura's order on the counter and the kunoichi smiled at the old man. She grabbed the paper bag before turning to Naruto, "Just, please, Naruto, get them outside."

And with that, Sakura was off again.

Naruto glanced at his bowl of ramen thoughtfully. Sakura may have been annoyed with him more than half of the time, but he knew that she really cared. That and the fact that she was too stubborn to admit her curiosity about his newly arrived relatives, but Naruto couldn't really blame her for that. And he felt a little better— just well enough for his appetite to return and another bowl of ramen was ordered.

...

Okay so he wasn't going to wake them up at 1 in the morning to ask them— no, _tell_ them (he was working on being more authoritative, even though it made him feel like Iruka-sensei) that they were going to go outside for a few hours for a tour around the village, and he kinda couldn't work up the nerve that morning, when Boru seemed especially haggard, so he waited until that evening.

When Naruto returned home, he didn't allow himself to be chased out of his own apartment by the distant siblings. Instead he camped out in the kitchen, waiting for when they inevitably came out for dinner.

He was sitting on top of the counter, downing a pre-dinner snack (ramen), when they finally wandered out of their realm.

Boru seemed startled to see him, but still went about his business. Himawari made an appearance this time, adjusting the rim of her hood as she watched her brother work around the kitchen.

As per usual, they stayed in silence, all waiting the three minutes in which it took for their meals to be ready. Boru kept his eyes firmly planted on the timer, but Himawari kept sneaking Naruto furtive glances, which he tried to meet with a smile.

"You know…" Naruto began, "Staying inside can't be too good for you," He probably sounded a little too much like Sakura, but being all technical was the only way to convince them. "Tomorrow why don't you come out with me? I swear we'll have a lot of fun."

As expected, Boru scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest, "Yeah, we'll pass."

Naruto wasn't backing down so easily this time, "Well as your legal guardian, can't I like, command you to come with me, or something?"

Himawari had looked intrigued by his offer but kept a mask of indifference. She looked over at her brother whose eyes had skirted off to the side. He muttered, "It's not like _you_ could ever make us."

"True," Naruto shrugged. He grinned, "But I can ask Kakashi-sensei to."

A look of almost fear passed over Boru's face and he met Naruto's grin with an angry glare. "Fine!" He shouted, snatching up his ramen and stalking back out of the kitchen. Himawari stayed for just a moment longer, tentatively smiling at him before scampering away as well.

Naruto finished off his ramen happily. Progress, he smiled. This was progress.

The next day, Sakura was waiting for him outside of his apartment. And she looked ready to burst with curiosity.

When he came out, her eyes didn't even meet his. They looked past him in favor of the guests of honor, slowly trudging behind him.

"Naruto, they look miserable." The pink haired medic whispered to her teammate while they were out of earshot. Her expression quickly changed as the two approached and she gave a nervous smile.

"Hi you two. Boru and Himawari, was it? It's nice to meet you, I'm Sakura."

"It's nice to meet you too," Himawari said quietly with a bow, and Boru mumbled something similar. His sympathies went out to the kid. If Sakura wailed on him twice in one day, he'd be a little cautious about her sudden change of character too.

The two walked a ways behind them as they took their trip around the village. Sakura kept shooting them glances and spoke up not too long after.

"It's so strange," She whispered to Naruto. "For them to suddenly just show up, so soon after Pain and all of the stuff with the Akatsuki. Do you think maybe they...their parents, well..." Sakura trailed off awkwardly, turning her eyes to the path in front of them.

Of course he had thought about that. Of course he'd considered the fact that maybe they were in the same boat he was. Parents taken away far too early. It was one of the reasons why he had wanted to take them in. If he could help it, he'd prevent them from being in the same situation he had. No one to support him, no one to care.

Sakura kept looking back at them, this time with pity in her eyes. It was funny, he thought, he'd received more glares of annoyance than ones of pity from Sakura when they were kids. Boru and Himawari were lucky.

"Hey," Sakura finally said to the Namikazes, overly sweet. "You know if there's anything you two need, don't be afraid to ask me."

Boru paid her a glance. "Anything?" he repeated.

She was even more put off by his actual responding, "Uh, yeah! Of course!"

"Well," He drawled, rivaling even Kakashi's breezy disposition in that moment. "Some taiyaki would be nice. And maybe some dango. You guys have that here? Yakisoba buns sound great too. Yep, a whole bunch of those."

Sakura blinked in horror at his deadpan expression, knowing that there was no way on earth she could afford his demands. Maybe Boru knew that Naruto was consistently broke. Sakura was a little better with money than he was, it was much smarter to ask her for all that stuff, even if it was kind of an expensive request.

The medic had stopped in her tracks, "I-I…"

Boru rolled his eyes, he and Himawari skirting past the two and taking the lead, "I'm just messing with you. Though _something_ other than ramen would be nice."

The two members of Team 7 stood dumbstruck for a few moments.

Sakura flushed even further, "Y-Yeah okay. Um…"

Boru exhaled deeply, "You can cut it out with the nice act. I know you're faking."

"But—"

The small blond turned on his heel and was now facing the two, "You can act all fakey if you want to, but I know you don't trust us."

"Trust you?" Sakura echoed. She cocked her head slightly, "I mean maybe you guys got off on the wrong foot, but I don't think you're dangerous or anything."

Boru hummed contemplatively, continuing down the road, "Well in that case you can still get us all that stuff I asked for, since we're being real now."

To Naruto's surprise, Sakura snorted, worry seemingly nonexistent now. He was really being taken by a loop here. He'd lived with them for three whole days and he'd barely been able to get a word out of the two. Now Boru was on as good of terms with Sakura as Naruto himself was. He gawked, it had taken _him_ months.

"Yeah sorry, don't count on it," She smirked, returning to herself. "Maybe I'll treat you every once in a while, but I'm not made of money."

While Boru hadn't turned back around, Naruto could practically sense the mutual respect radiating between him and his teammate.

Hang on, what exactly just happened?

"Hey you know, if you didn't want ramen you could have just said so," Naruto told him a bit caustically.

"What would the point have been in that?" Boru retorted as if it was a stupid thing to say.

"Well maybe if you guys would just _talk_ to me we—"

"Could you just back off?!" Boru snapped. Suddenly, two pairs of fiery blue eyes were staring the other down. "You wanna know why we don't talk to you? It's because you're _lame_, there'd be no point."

Himawari, who had been looking nervously between the two, finally piped up, "Boru, _stop_."

Her brother broke away from Naruto's stare and looked down at her suddenly scolding countenance.

"Let's just go," Boru muttered.

Naruto was too busy focusing on not clobbering the little punk where he stood. It'd be easy, he thought, he had turned his stupid back towards them again, acting all high and mighty. He'd never see it coming!

However, Sakura placed a hand on his arm. Blue eyes met green and his own narrowed at the state of her face, cheeks tinged pink with bottled up laughter.

"It's not funny," He growled.

She snorted, "It kinda is."

He pulled his arm from her grasp, crossing both his limbs across his chest, "He's such a brat."

"He's twelve," Sakura stared off at the two siblings as they walked. "And, he reminds me exactly of you when you were a kid."

"No way," He rolled his eyes.

Sakura shook her head, going to catch up with Namikazes, "You're in denial, Naruto."

Suffice it to say, their excursion around Konoha had not gone as Naruto had intended.

(Picture this: two kids lost and alone in the world, having to find their long lost relative for refuge. He takes them in and although the first few days were rough, today was going to be the day where their reservations evaporated and they fully embraced their cousin with open arms.)

The exact _opposite_ seemed to be unfolding that day.

While Boru wasn't talking Sakura's ear off, he did exchange a word or two with her every now and then. Even Himawari, who Naruto was certain was on his side, eventually betrayed him for his teammate. All it took was a compliment on her hooded coat and even the quietest of the Namikazes was opening up. On one hand he wanted to be happy that she was opening up, but on the other he was kind of jealous that she'd felt more comfortable around Sakura than her own flesh and blood.

Ever the optimist, Naruto pretended not to notice how close the three of them were growing, and how far away he felt from it all. He kept his smile, he kept the occasional goofy comment in which Boru would scoff at and Himawari would pay him the occasional glance behind her shoulder. Inside though, he felt that he was rapidly losing this family game.

Naturally on their tour, they hadn't gone without their fair share of ogglers along the way. People who had to double take at seeing not one, not two, but _three_ Narutos, all a little too different to be clones. And naturally people had come up, questioning the phenomenon, some wondering if this was some type of clone training, or if Naruto had long lost kids or something (he was 16, geez). He'd laugh and say no, presenting his cousins as proudly as he could. The onlookers would slowly nod, still a bit confused. Some would go on about their day, but others went on to coo at how absolutely adorable they were. Himawari handled the attention like a champ while Boru all but swatted the villagers away, irritability kicked up a couple notches.

There were times when Naruto wasn't entertaining a curious crowd and when he was sequestered from the group once more. Sakura lightly teased Boru about being _so_ _precious_ while the young blond was teetering on revoking his respect. Naruto, rather than laughing alongside them, was left to wonder what he did that was so bad that Boru seemed to hold some sort of deep seeded hatred for him.

In hindsight, Sakura had been right: Boru did remind Naruto of himself when he was a kid, and that only made him feel worse. If Boru was anything like him when he was young, he'd need to rely on someone that wasn't just himself. He needed comrades. _Family_.

He blinked and saw that Sakura and Boru had gone up further ahead. The pink haired medic leading the way now in silence with Boru following behind her. Naruto was then aware of the holes being burned into the side of his head and unconsciously put a hand up to his face, glancing down. Himawari had been staring intently at him, slightly startled by his call to attention.

She flushed, "S...Sorry."

"No no, it's okay!" He had probably come off a bit too intense, but she was _finally_ talking to him, on her _own_ accord.

"I just...um…" She fiddled with her oversized sleeves. "Sorry about my brother. It's a little hard for him. Sometimes he gets mad and stuff, but I promise! He's really nice and fun too!"

Himawari's eyes were practically glimmering with the determination to make him understand and he had never even seen her remotely as passionate as she looked now. So he couldn't help when he smiled and even laughed at her puzzled expression, "I bet he is. Don't worry," He assured, spirits improved. "I'll win him over."

"You think so?"

"Yeah of course! We'll be best friends before the week is up!"

She tilted her head in perplexity, "You wanna be friends with Boru?"

"Yeah why not?"

She shook her head then smiled, "Um, no reason. Are… are we friends?"

"I'd hope so," He motioned to Sakura up ahead, "Seems like you're my only friend in the world."

The girl's eyes widened and her face lit up and Naruto couldn't help but feel warmed by her reaction.

Sakura had slowed enough for the two to catch up. She was telling Boru something about the restaurants that they had in the village, but Naruto could tell that he wasn't really listening. Himawari merged herself back into the group and took Naruto along with her. Together they all made pleasant enough conversation— well, he and Sakura did most of the talking, but Himawari did seem a lot more confident and spoke with them as well. Boru was still set on not talking to Naruto and before, he had just given up on trying to get through to the twelve year old but thanks to the youngest Namikaze, Naruto spoke as freely as ever.

They had been walking for quite a while and interest was slowly draining.

"Is there anything _fun_ to do around here?" Boru partly muttered to himself.

"Of course there is," Naruto told him. "I find stuff to do everyday."

There was a tug on his sleeve and he looked down at Himawari, "What do you do for fun?"

"Well I train and hang out with my friends and eat ram— _other_ foods, and uh well," He guessed that was about it.

"What about when you don't have friends around?" Boru asked almost mockingly.

"I mean I've got a lot of friends so usually someone is around, so you never really get bored."

"That's all?" Himawari asked.

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Maybe I'm not the best person to ask about how to have fun around here."

"What do you guys do for fun?" Sakura inquired.

Himawari happily piped up, "Well, gardening is fun. My mom taught me. Sometimes even Boru helped a little, but mostly he just stayed inside and played video games—"

Boru flinched, casting an eye towards his sister. Himawari flushed and covered her mouth.

"Video games, huh?" Sakura mused, taking no notice of the exchange between the two. "I've seen one of those before, but I'm not sure we have anything like that."

"It's fine," Boru quickly said. "Himawari was just messing around."

Naruto watched how the two shared a look before going on their way. And Naruto did what Naruto did best. He pried.

"Wow," he said in awe, "You guys must have been super rich or something. The only time I've ever seen a video game was when we had a job protecting this rich kid, remember that Sakura?"

Sakura nodded at the memory and Boru's expression only darkened.

"No," Boru muttered. "We weren't. Just leave it alone."

This time he sensed that he'd struck a nerve and added, "I mean that's okay too. I'm like as far as you can get from being rich."

"Okay, I get it. Could you drop it?"

And Naruto being Naruto couldn't really take a hint, despite his belief that he wasn't _that_ dense, "It's really okay, Boru. It's not like we judge here or anything. We're your friends now, and—"

And that's when his luck with his cousins reached its end. Boru stopped in his tracks, voice colder than it had ever been, "Listen, we'll never be friends."

Naruto almost flinched.

"Don't even get a stupid idea like that into your head." Boru didn't even pay him a glance as he started walking once more.

Sakura looked torn between following after Boru and staying with him. Himawari seemed to be having the same issue, but it took her less time to come up with her decision as she soon scampered after her older brother, looking rattled.

Sakura looked at him worriedly, "Naruto—"

"It's fine Sakura," He smiled, "He's just a kid after all."

Sakura shot him a sympathetic glance before following after the two, leaving Naruto standing alone on the path.

As soon as Sakura had left, his smile dropped. He thought that he had finally connected. At least a little. Back to square one, he guessed.

Up ahead, Sakura was doing her best at changing the subject when he came into ear shot, discussing something about a recent mission she went on.

"But not all shinobi jobs are as uh, boring as mine is right now. Not that you two had anything to do with that," She laughed nervously.

"Oh, look," The kunoichi sounded grateful for a distraction. "There's Shino and Hinata."

The two members of Team 8 came over when Sakura caught their attention and Naruto's nose twitched. Boru and Himawari noticeably looked on edge and the pink haired medic took notice.

"Don't worry you guys, Shino is a little strange sometimes but he'll grow on you after a while, and Hinata… oh yeah you guys met her the other day."

Boru grumbled something about his head and Sakura gave an embarrassed chuckle, "Heh, yeah right. Sorry about that again. Hopefully you guys can meet properly today. She's really sweet."

Hinata and Shino came over and Naruto hung resolutely in the back of the pack. They'd probably talk for a while, Naruto figured. So he quietly veered off towards the training grounds.

…

"Hi Sakura," Hinata bowed when she came over.

The medic smiled, "Hi Hinata and Shino."

Himawari and Boruto had unconsciously backed tracked behind Sakura, hiding away from his former sensei and their mother.

But of course, they took notice of the two children behind their friend and were naturally curious. Shino spoke up first, "Sakura I have to ask who those children are hiding behind you. Why? Because they bear a striking resemblance to Naruto."

"Hm?" Sakura noticed that they had grouped behind her and moved aside, "Oh, these are Naruto's relatives. They're going to be staying with us for a while."

"Nice to meet you again," Hinata smiled kindly at them. She bowed again, "I'm Hinata. You gave me quite the surprise when we met the other day, you'll have to excuse me." They both gave a small bow in return, too nervous to say anything.

The Hyūga gave them another smile before Shino bowed deeply next.

"It's an honor to meet some of Naruto's relatives as we did not think he had any."

The Hyūga timidly met Sakura's eye, "Is Naruto around? I thought I just saw him…"

Sakura looked behind her, noticing that the blond was suddenly nowhere to be seen. The medic scratched her head, "He just left!? What the… he was just here."

A look of guilt crossed Hinata's face and her eyes lowered to the ground, "Oh… I'm sorry that we missed him."

Sakura waved her off, "He probably just got hungry or something. It would have been nice if he'd told me." She shook off her vexation and gestured towards the two, "But anyway, this is Boru and Himawari."

Just as well, Hinata whatever was on her mind aside and smiled. "Himawari. That's a beautiful name."

His sister clenched his arm and all but buried her face into it. "Thank you." She whispered.

"How are you doing, Hinata?" Sakura asked. "Is everything healing properly?"

Hinata nodded to the medic, "Yes, I'm feeling a lot better. I haven't been cleared for missions or anything yet, but Lady Tsunade says it's only a matter of time."

Boruto wasn't really paying attention to what Sakura said after that. He stared off behind him to where his father had been. His eyes narrowed. Why did he choose _now_ to have taken his leave?

The look his mother held earlier couldn't have been a coincidence to the blond's sudden disappearance and so Boruto leapt away. He had a sneaking suspicion as to where Naruto had gone.

…

"Hey," Boruto called to his father. Just as he had thought, he was in the woods, training no doubt. His father's back was turned to him and he didn't bother answering Boruto.

"_Hey_," Boruto stomped towards him.

"Shouldn't you be with Sakura?" Boruto's eyes narrowed at his sneering tone.

"Why'd you just walk off?"

"Does it matter?" He scoffed.

Boruto's patience was dwindling, "That was rude you know. Walking off like that. She… that girl is supposed to be your friend and you just left without saying anything. Her feelings looked really hurt."

He finally turned, perplexed, "Hinata?"

"You know, for someone who goes on and on about how much you value your friends, you obviously don't."

Naruto seemed genuinely confused, "What are you talking about?"

"Why did you just _leave_?" Boruto spoke venomously. "What did she ever do to you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about and besides, as far as I'm concerned it's none of your business."

"Bullshit. You've been trying to be friends with us all day but when your actual friends come around, you don't even care."

"Look, why do you even care this much about it—"

Boruto faltered. He cared because his mother had seemed so upset. He cared because his father was inconsiderate. He cared because he was tired of him hurting people.

"You're such a damn hypocrite," He spat. "I wish everyone knew what a fake you are. You're not some hero. You're a destructive idiot who doesn't give a crap about anyone or anything."

For the first time— in this time, at least— it seemed that Boruto had finally pushed his father to the limit.

"You don't know me," He snapped, "You haven't even tried to get to know me this entire time. Now you're accusing me of being fake?! How do we know that _you're_ not faking? I don't know anything about you or where you came from." A look of hurt passed across his face, "What if… what if you're lying?"

Boruto rolled his eyes, "I can assure you that I'm not, unfortunately."

"See that's another thing!" Naruto retaliated. "You act like it's such a chore to be related to me but you don't know me!"

"Trust me," Boruto's eyes narrowed. "I know you well enough."

"What the hell do you plan on getting out of this? A fight?"

"Maybe!"

While the anger had not dissipated from the air, the promise of a fight sent a rush of adrenaline through them both.

Both readied for the anticipated fight. "You're not allowed to go easy on me just cause I'm a kid." Boruto told him.

"Don't worry," Naruto said with a cocky smirk. "I won't."

It was Boruto who made the first move— call it years of suppressed emotion. He flew at the older blonde, fist outstretched.

Naruto easily dodged his attack, side stepping him effortlessly. Boruto landed on the opposite side of his father and quickly turned to face him.

_Yep_, he confirmed, reading his father's features. He couldn't help but inwardly grin. They were doing this for real.

There was a kunai inside Boruto's jacket but he refrained from using it. A strike to the face with a kunai wouldn't be nearly as satisfying as a fist to the face would be.

His father was only waiting, watching. Trying to get a read on Boruto. No matter how skilled he thought he was, the young blonde scoffed to himself, Boruto had the advantage by far.

While his father was unsure of what Boruto was capable of, the younger was well versed in Naruto's movements. Not to mention his father was significantly weaker than he was back in the present. Boruto almost felt bad. Almost.

He launched towards his father again, ready to end this fight much quicker than he knew his father was anticipating. It was simple, he'd pretend to go for a blow towards the face. Naruto would stop him, no doubt, and once he did, he'd be vulnerable. Then he'd land a chakra infused blow to his stomach. As cheap as that was, the rest of the fight would be set.

Just as Boruto came halfway to meeting his target, Naruto dodged. Boruto blinked in surprise, skidding to a halt in the dirt. That wasn't right. His father never dodged twice in a row, he was far too impatient.

There was no time to think about that now, Naruto was suddenly out of sight. Boruto twisted around just in time to avoid a direct blow to his back. He raised his arms, taking the force of the kick dealt to him.

It was enough to push him back significantly. Boruto shook off the one hit Naruto had over him. It was just one. It still didn't change the fact that Boruto could anticipate any other move that came his way.

He was done messing around now. Boruto phased in front of Naruto, satisfied by the surprise on his face.

From there they began to exchange real blows, neither holding back. They'd been evading each other's fists until Boruto's brushed by Naruto's shoulder.

The former jumped back, rubbing his shoulder and looking at Boruto suspiciously. Boruto blinked, he had just grazed him. Was he trying to psych him out?

"Come on," Boruto called. "When are you going to get serious?"

Naruto smirked, "You're just as eager about fighting as I am. Runs in the family?"

"Cut it _out_."

He frowned, "Why does that piss you off so much? If you would just tell me—"

Boruto didn't know why he was so angry. He didn't need to be, right? But something inside him was enraged by the fact that his father was ignorant of all he had done— all that he _would_ _do_. So no, he didn't want to talk to him. He wanted to punch him in his stupid face.

"I said, _shut up!_" Bullseye. Boruto was shocked to feel his fist come into contact with Naruto's cheek. He stepped back, waiting for Naruto to retaliate, but all he did was stand there.

Boruto stood, alert, ready for some sort of plan to play out but all his father did was spit out a mouthful of blood. And when he raised his head, bangs falling away from his eyes, there was only calm. _Sympathy_.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Boruto growled.

Naruto smiled and it sent Boruto's blood boiling, "If you need to punch me to get whatever all this frustration is out, then I'll let you do it."

"You _liar_." The genin spat. "You said that you wouldn't go easy on me, that you would take this seriously."

"Boru—"

"No! I'm so sick and tired of all your stupid lies!"

He flew at Naruto in a blind rage, swiping at him with the kunai he unsheathed. His father made the mistake of only opting to dodging rather than fighting back. Boruto struck out with his kunai, slicing through to his leg. Naruto winced and staggered to his knees.

The younger blond forced him onto his back with a well-aimed blow to the chest, winding him. Boruto stood over his father, his entire body shaking with anger.

"You," Boruto pointed his kunai at Naruto. "I know exactly who the hell you are. You're no hero. You stand there, thinking you're so noble in letting a twelve year old beat you up, but where's the honor in that when you promised you'd take this seriously? Your damn word is a load of crap."

Naruto sat in stunned silence as Boruto continued his tirade, "I expected a real fight. I _wanted_ a real fight, but you couldn't even give me _that_. Let me tell you something: all you are is selfish. You don't care about how others feel when you decide to do something. You just do it and wreck everything in your way. Every_one_." Boruto felt his adrenaline dying down as he spoke the words he'd been harboring for years. Maybe he'd gone a little too far. This Naruto couldn't possibly understand why Boruto knew so much about him but really, all Boruto cared about was that _he_ was feeling to feel better. For now.

He scoffed, looking down at Naruto, "Some Hokage you'll make. As if you even deserve it."

Fire flashed in his father's eyes and his chakra began to expand exponentially. Before he knew what was happening, Boruto was thrown across the clearing, barely managing to stop himself from flying into the forest.

His father was standing now, fists clenched, "You've got a lot of nerve, brat."

Boruto tightened his grip on his kunai, the murderous intent in the air was practically tangible.

"You come into _my_ village, telling me who you think I am."

Wind swirled in the clearing and a ball of chakra began to form in Naruto's left hand.

_Rasengan_, Boruto noted. It would take a while to form so he'd have to watch—

The concentrated chakra was already halfway towards him. How had he formed it so quickly? And without shadow clones?

Looking past the blue ball of swirling chakra, he saw the red in Naruto's eyes and Boruto knew that he was in trouble.

Boruto ducked just in time but saw that the older shinobi had anticipated this move.

_Crap_. Before Naruto could redirect his trajectory, Boruto thought as quickly as he could. He sent his palm flying upward into his father's arm, approximately where a chakra point would be located. The light and swirling wind died down and he made the mistake of thinking the threat had been eliminated.

Boruto was swept off his knees and slammed against a tree. The blond winced at the pressure on his back and the elbow pressed against his throat.

He tried to pry the arm away from his neck but Naruto's hold was iron tight. He stared Kurama in the eye, searching for some trace of his father within the crimson depths.

Boruto's eyes widened when Naruto raised his left arm, which had previously been hanging limp at his side, and created another Rasengan.

Boruto stopped his struggling and looked at Naruto's hand once more. He felt his stomach drop and he gasped.

The ball was shortly extinguished again and Naruto's eyes returned to blue as Kakashi— of course; his timing was wonderful as always— put a hand on his shoulder.

"Problem?" The grey haired shinobi raised a brow.

Naruto quickly released Boruto, and he fell to the ground, eyes wide, gasping for air.

"Um, no, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto mumbled. "We were just sparring."

"Quite a lot of commotion over a sparring match, don't you think?" Kakashi looked thoughtful and said to himself, "Well considering it's you two, I shouldn't be surprised."

"Heh heh, yeah…" Naruto's voice lacked its usual animation.

Boruto stayed where he was on all fours, thoughts moving a mile a minute.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't try and kill our _honored guest_. We still haven't gotten any work out of him."

"I wasn't gonna kill him." The former pupil murmured shakily.

Kakashi hummed in response, eyeing Boruto who still crouched on the ground, "What's the matter with you? Naruto knock a few screws loose?"

Boruto shook his head and stood ruefully, not meeting either of the two's eyes.

"In that case, you two should head home. We don't need kids out too late."

Both complied without defiance and they silently began the walk home.

As they reached the apartment, Boruto finally dared a look at the blond shinobi, still in a state of disbelief over his realization.

This person was not his father.

…

**I found it hilarious how they're doing a time travel arc in Boruto, lmao. Luckily I think I'm heading in a different direction than the series is, but I don't really watch it so who knows, you guys tell me XD**


	5. Chapter 5

**...**

His arm was still sore.

Not to mention his shoulder and cheek too. It was strange, really. Normally, his wounds would have been healed shortly after sustaining them. It had been almost four hours and he was _still_ aching.

Naruto lay in his bed for the first time in days, holding a cold cloth to his face. He was deep in thought.

Boru's first action back at the apartment was giving Naruto his bed back. Not only that, but his entire room was surrendered to him. Naruto had been in the kitchen, trying to ice down his wounds when the kid suddenly appeared out of nowhere (as per usual) and quickly told him that he and Himawari weren't going to be using his bed anymore. And before Naruto could get a word of questioning out, his young cousin slipped out of sight.

Looking down his shadowy hallway, Naruto saw the blond disappear behind a new quilted partition.

Now he wasn't complaining because sleeping on the floor wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but the fact was that he couldn't sleep _at all_. His bed was still the same as usual, and he usually slept like a rock, no problem. Was he still feeling the adrenaline from he and Boru's fight?

Naruto sighed, glancing at his cracked door. If he strained his ears, he could hear Boru and Himawari's quiet whispering.

He wondered what it was exactly that families whispered about behind closed doors and if he'd ever be let into that circle. Given the day's events, he guessed that it'd be a while.

Naruto could still see the anger on his face, the initial reason why Naruto couldn't fight him "for real" like he had asked him to. The picture was painfully familiar and it didn't help that Boru _did_ look a lot like himself. (Sakura was always right.)

From personal experience, Naruto figured that beating the crap out of the kid— even though he kind of deserved it— _wasn't_ the route Naruto should take as a guardian. Plenty of opponents in Naruto's life had indulged him, far too weak to pose a threat. Sure that had only spurred him on because he had a killer stubbornness that kept him pushing forward and leading him to new strengths, but Boru, as far as Naruto knew, hadn't been cursed with having a kyuubi implanted inside him.

When Naruto was angry and was pushed too far, the demon inside of him rampaged and there was always someone there to retain him, to bring him back down because they _had_ to. If his anger festered long enough, there was no telling what damage would've been done, but he tried not to think about that too much because… well, considering.

With no threat of inhalation hinging on Boru's moods, there weren't an abundance of precautions taken to make sure that the twelve year old wouldn't get angry from time to time. Naruto saw how dangerous that was the moment he prepared to fight his cousin. There was a pent up rage inside him that he needed to get out or it would build into something unmanageable.

And the only way out? Power and revenge. By any means necessary.

Naruto swore he wasn't going to let the same thing that happened to Sasuke happen to Boru too. So he took a couple of his punches even though it hurt like hell (which still baffled him).

But after Naruto had come back down and Kakashi inevitably reigned him in, his cousin had refused to look at him, and Naruto had a sneaking suspicion as to why.

Naruto's nine tails state was a lot to deal with for _anyone_, Naruto wanted to tell his cousin, and his demon's awakening was a shock to him as well. And he probably should have told his cousins about the kyuubi from the start but could you really blame him? It wasn't that easy to bring something like that up in conversation.

A thought though had been niggling at the back of Naruto's mind all night, though. Did Boru hate him because of the Nine Tails?

It wasn't such a wild possibility, hell, that was his entire childhood up until recently and Boru had only come around a few days ago. Naruto frowned, feeling that old sensation of seclusion, _aloneness_, was creeping in the shadows of his own home. That wasn't something he really wanted to dwell on at the moment. It was a little too painful to know that while everyone else in the village regarded him with love and admiration, his own family hated him. He wasn't going to look at it that way, though. Surely Boru just needed the night to sleep off his defeat, he thought optimistically, and then Naruto would talk to him about it— whether the kid liked it or not.

Turning on his side, Naruto winced at an undetected wound and sat up in frustration. For what it was worth, Boru was a lot stronger than Naruto thought. He had a far more tactical mind than Naruto ever had at that age. Maybe he'd take him to meet Shikamaru some day…

The blond flinched away from where he'd rest his hand in his cheek in thought. It had been a free shot, but the fighter in Naruto was still mulling over how easily he'd let his defenses down.

He swung his legs over his bed, dressing quickly. Nothing like a late night training session to tire him out and provide adequate distraction.

…

Naruto went through his routine on the training grounds, working on his defense and pushing speed. Not that Boru had made him nervous or anything, but that would be the last time he'd throw the first few punches away like that. From now own, Naruto swore determinedly, they'd spar as comrades, not enemies. They _weren't_ going to be enemies, he added, almost as a plea.

Shooting out another fist, Naruto shook out his hand as the tingling sensation persisted. Naruto made a mental note to ask Boru what technique he used. The taijutsu he'd witnessed his cousin using wasn't like anything he had seen. It was oddly unique, and Naruto wanted to see the full range of his ability some time.

He had made fun of Boru for looking too young to even be a genin but he possessed some serious power if he could hold his own against a demon, at least for a while, he noted with a touch of pride.

The Nine Tails...

Naruto's stance slacked a bit as he considered his demon's reawakening. It was the first time that he'd appeared since Pain. The demon had been quiet ever since his father had rewritten his seal and that was as it should have been. His father, who Naruto _knew_ was the greatest shinobi ever, had been able to tame the fox demon's chakra with ease. Bringing Naruto down when he'd gone so far…

A shadow clone snapped him out of his thoughts, as per his wishes. He hadn't had much time to dwell on anything since, and he'd stayed busy as much as possible, training because he needed to get stronger like his dad and well yeah, that was true and all, but nowadays he didn't like to be alone with his thoughts for too long.

Namely, he preferred to keep any and all thoughts away from last month's incident. It sent his mind to darker places than he'd like to be.

So he always had his distractions and after a month of what Sakura called "repression" his body automatically made clones to keep him occupied, to keep his mind in the clear.

There was a shiver up his spine and he felt the thread like connection between he and his clone snap and dissipate into the night breeze.

Naruto ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He knew that whenever he entered his nine tails state, his own chakra flow often had issues and disruptions for a while afterwards. This had been the third clone to disappear that night, but he was feeling particularly reminiscent tonight so he'd dealt with his clones' increasingly shortened life span.

Naruto was still at a loss as to how he'd gotten into nine tails state in the first place. Boru was annoying at times, sure, but he'd gone through worse than a twelve year old mocking his dreams. His father's seal was meant to keep the fox inside and to prevent any future mishaps with Naruto getting out of control again. If the demon was able to break free so easily did that mean the demon was getting stronger? What did that mean for Naruto?

_Try communicating with it_, Kakashi advised when Naruto informed him of how he hadn't torn the _entire_ village apart. _If Minato was able to, I'm sure he knows that you'd be able to as well. _

And he'd _tried_ that, but the stupid fox had gone silent. It was like he wasn't even there anymore. But of all times the demon showed up, it had put someone in danger. _Again_.

Naruto's chakra fluctuated in the telltale sign of a clone summoning. This time, all that appeared was a puff of smoke. With nothing to anchor him down, his thoughts began to spiral. Memories of blood and anger surfaced and he let them come.

The stupid curse had done nothing but bring pain, his only family probably hated him, and sure things usually worked out in the end, but his own hands, which he had sworn would protect his comrades and now his _family_, had come so close to destroying everything.

He mentally slapped himself. There was no need to start brooding about his fate again. What's done was done and he was stuck with the kyuubi whether he liked it or not.

Clenching his stomach, Naruto made his way back to the village. He didn't feel like training anymore.

His feet took him down the path to town and then around the village. He was walking aimlessly, not wanting to go anywhere but feeling restless all at the same time.

Naruto stopped after almost an hour of listless wandering, trying to work out where he had gone: a footpath along a wall that seemed to go on forever in every direction. Outside of one of the clan's grounds, he surmised.

Before he could speculate just which of the great clans he was bound to piss of by being far too close to their walls, another set of footsteps came within earshot just behind him.

He spun on his heel, an apology already on his tongue when it suddenly fell short at the familiar face who stepped into the moonlight.

His mouth felt dry, but he willed himself to utter, "Hinata…"

She started, eyes widening as she registered the person standing behind the Hyuga compound.

"Naruto… it's you."

They both stood for a moment, at a loss for words. Naruto felt the bile rise in his throat as each second passed, and he couldn't bring himself to look at her.

Luckily, she spared him and spoke first, "It's um… been a while… since I've seen you."

He thought about playing it off. About saying that they'd probably just missed each other. But even he didn't think that lie would gain much ground.

He managed a brief but lifeless chuckle, "Heh, yeah…"

Hinata took him by surprise, taking a deep breath and taking a few steps towards him. Involuntarily he backed away, eyes finally locking with hers. His heart sank a bit seeing the sadness that laid in them.

"It's just what I thought," She smiled sadly at the ground. "You've been avoiding me."

They sat in silence, Naruto being unable to deny her conclusion and Hinata being unable to face it.

He turned his head away, unable to prevent the memories from replaying before his eyes. The fight was still crystal clear to him, even after all the effort he took to just _forget_.

He was being badly beaten, the last remaining Pain getting the upper hand on him. His Sage mode was proving useless in the battle now and he was afraid that victory was looking less and less likely.

He was battered and bruised at the very center of the crater Pain had created but he didn't care. He'd fight to his last breath to ensure that the village and everyone in it was safe, and he wasn't going to die so easily. Even when there was suddenly a metal rod pinning his shoulder to an earth wall that had been erected earlier in the fight.

Ringed purple eyes glared down at him with menacing triumph. There had been a speech made by his adversary but with the way Naruto's head was swimming, he couldn't bring himself to register what was being said.

Another rod pierced through his leg, tearing through muscle. He didn't even have enough strength to scream.

He had come so close, _so close_ to defeating all of the Pains and saving the village. Now, he looked at the harsh reality of what they were faced with. Half the village lay dead, their homes decimated, their supposed hero having arrived too late. Even if he had defeated this last Pain, the loss was still just as great. He hadn't saved anyone.

Pain had summoned another rod and raised it once more. From where Naruto's head hung limply, he was just about to submit to the heaviness of his eyelids when a shadow flashed by. Pain's chakra absorbing rod then fell to the ground.

Naruto summoned the strength to raise his head and saw the blur of blue lunge toward Pain. Earth and rock flew into his face as the ground shattered upon impact and there she stood, fists engulfed in flame-like chakra.

Pain had looked surprised for just a moment before he was dodging another one of Hinata's attacks. He easily evaded each of her blows, even though she seemed to be putting everything she had into trying to land a hit.

She dipped low to the ground and a dome of chakra swelled around her, pushing Pain back considerably. With him out of the way, Hinata rushed over to Naruto and swiped at the rods, breaking them in half as if they were twigs.

He couldn't form the words to speak when she snapped off the first rod. By the time she had taken out a second, cognitive thought returned to him and he found himself overcome with a sense of panic.

He had yelled. Told her to stop, to go back. She didn't stand a chance against him.

Hinata had looked at him as he said those things. She looked scared, _terrified_ even but said, with a smile on her face, that she _was_ going to save him. She had hesitated then, mouth opening to say something else, but suddenly she was flying.

His eyes followed her descent from the heavens in horror as she landed with a dull thud on the ground. Pain then watched in disgust as she staggered to her feet, blood streaming from a gash on her forehead. She stood in front of Naruto, arms raised, fists surging with chakra.

He wasn't going to touch him, she had said. All Pain did was raise an arm and Hinata had been sent soaring into the Akatsuki's grasp. His grip tightened around her throat and she scratched and squirmed in his hold. Naruto's heart had been pounding in his ears so loudly that he couldn't hear the words Pain had spoken to her.

It was her response that caused Pain to narrow his eyes and in a swift motion, send a rod through her chest. The color drained from her body as Pain then flung her away with an elemental push.

The earth vibrated against his back as her limp body dangled lifelessly next to his. He saw her arms feebly come up and rest on the metal impaling her chest, the smallest of efforts made just to _keep fighting_.

Then the awful sound of skin piercing metal rang in his ears once more and Hinata went still.

The pounding in his ears was deafening. All he could see was red.

When it was all over he hadn't known whether she had survived until well after his meeting with his father. The relief he had felt had been mind numbing, but soon after it had been followed by regret and shame.

"Naruto."

Hinata had taken another step closer to him. Her hands were raised towards him and worry was written all over her face, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah…" He breathed, blinking himself out of his thoughts. "Yeah. I'm fine."

He didn't want to ever think about that day if he could help it. What he _let_ the Nine Tails do to him. He hated to think that more lives could have been lost, and that it was Hinata of all people that was put in the most danger.

He could smell blood again. His nose twitched and he clenched and unclenched his fists. He could still see _her_ blood.

"H-How are you?" He managed.

"I'm...fine," He was acting strange and Hinata knew it. With her mumbled response Naruto's eyes flew to the bandages that were peeking out from under her jacket. Hinata wrapped her arms around her chest, shuffling uncomfortably, "I'm doing better."

The rusty smell that had filled his nose was now suffocating him and Naruto knew it was all in his head but he felt like he was going to pass out. When he staggered, Hinata was immediately at his side, grabbing onto his arm.

"Naruto? What's wrong?"

He flinched when she touched him, and felt the urge to push her away. However, he felt paralyzed. Unable to move as Hinata carefully sat him on the ground, waving a hand in his face.

"Naruto, please, you have to tell me what's going on with you."

She was so close that her breath, warm and sweet, billowed in his face. He blinked, snapping out of his spell. Hinata was alive. She was okay. She was right in front of him, at his side in seconds. Just like always...

His hands clenched a patch of grass.

"Why…" His voice wavered. He swallowed, keeping his eyes planted to the ground, "Why'd you do it?"

Hinata blinked, confused at first but then her shoulders dropped in realization. Her voice was solemn as she responded, "I had to."

"But you _didn't_!" Naruto insisted, finally looking her in the eye. She flinched at the fire behind his words and a look of shame graced her features,

"You almost _died_, Hinata. How could you do something like that!? I—"

"I had to!" Hinata cut him off. She was trembling, eyes fluttering, but she stood her ground, giving Naruto a fierce look of retaliation, "_You_ almost died, Naruto."

"That...No, that's not the same," He insisted. "I had taken out the others, I should have been able to take out the last. I wouldn't have died until I knew the village was safe. I would have protected everyone."

"You don't understand," she sounded like she was on the verge of tears. "H-He was going to kill you."

Naruto lowered his gaze, "But at least he'd be dead. I promised that I'd protect the village with my dying breath, if I had… you all would've been safe."

Hinata stubbornly shook her head, screwing her eyes shut, "No. No, I don't believe that. I _refuse_. I'm a shinobi too, I can protect _you_—"

Naruto didn't understand why he got so angry when she said that but he took her by her shoulders, angrily shaking her, "Hinata, _stop it_. You're not the one with a demon inside them. It's okay if I died, I don't have a family, a clan to lead." She shrank away from him, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes as he continued his tirade, "My father gave me this demon, knowing that I'd use it to protect this village and my friends. _I_ have the power to defend this village, not you—"

She was crying even harder when he decided to stop, and he hated himself for it but he needed to get it through her surprisingly thick skull that he was supposed to protect them. Hinata was supposed to be one of his most sensible friends. Why was she so determined to protect him when it was supposed to be the other way around?

Fat tears rolled freely down her flushed cheeks as she shook free of him, stumbling back in the dirt.

He'd gone too far and he knew it, "Hinata, I didn't mean—"

She shook her head once more, rising to her feet. When she took her hands away from her eyes she looked down at him, "How could you say something like that?" Naruto looked at her, shame rising within. He hadn't meant it that way, and wanted to make amends but she took him off his guard with what came next, "How could you say that my life is worth more than yours. It's _not_! I know that better than anyone." Naruto sat stunned as she hiccuped, "I-I hate that you think that if you died, it wouldn't matter. It'd matter to me and it'd matter to our friends."

Her hands balled up into fists, "I know you're only acting this way to protect me. I know that I'm weak. That I'm not as strong as Sakura or as smart as Shikamaru… and that I shouldn't have done what I did, but I don't regret it. Not ever, if it meant saving you." Hinata tried to give him a pained, watery smile, but it fell flat, "I...I know it's going to be hard for you to rely on your comrades now. You've grown so much, you're much stronger than the rest of us and I understand why you've been angry with me. But I want to make you a promise. As one of my dearest friends, I promise you that I'll get stronger so you won't have to worry anymore."

"Hinata…"

She shook her head, "Don't say anything. You've already done so much for us. For me. Let me do this one thing for you." The heiress bowed deeply, "Thank you for saving us." She looked as if she tried to stay a moment longer, to leave with an air of humility but she turned away all too quickly disappearing down the path.

He watched her go and wondered why he didn't call her back, apologize. And he couldn't begin to fathom why he had even said something like that to her. Naruto pushed the heels of his palms into his eyes and sunk back into the foliage.

The fourth Hokage of Konoha had told him that the demon wasn't a curse, that it was a gift Naruto would surely learn how to utilize. But here he lay, the weight, the _guilt_, of the Nine Tails' power only grew and grew with every distrustful glance Boru shot his way, with every tear he'd cause Hinata to shed.

Naruto was beginning to question his father's judgement.

././.

This was not Konoha.

Their chances of returning home were gradually getting smaller and smaller.

Those were the facts.

With each step Boruto took, the truth became more and more obvious. He'd been so stupid, so easy to believe that this was something so simplistic.

The lights blared and his nose was filled with the scent of sawdust and frying food.

Boruto looked up, eyes sweeping over the restaurants and their patrons, all smiles and good humor. Though the autumn breeze whispered through the streets, it was warm here. It felt like home.

It _wasn't_ home, though.

Boruto wasn't an expert or anything on Naruto Uzumaki but he knew for sure that he was right handed. When Naruto had swung a Rasengan into his face not once but _twice_ with his left hand, the truth practically slapped him in the face.

He'd been wary ever since his talk with Sakura earlier in the day. She'd been informing him of how great the village was, the inspirational leadership of Lady Tsunade, and how Konoha was the picture of unity.

Boruto had offhandedly asked how the Hokage was doing. Sakura had given him a perplexed look, telling him that she was fine. Off dealing with some business in the south, but she'd be back soon, why had he asked?

He'd brushed it off, saying that having to deal with the aftermath of Pain's attack must have been difficult, and she had slowly nodded her head, eyeing him a bit.

There was nothing unified about a village who'd almost endured a coup d'état. But if Lady Tsunade was well— hadn't been out of commission in the first place— then Danzo never would have had the opportunity to overthrow her.

But there _had_ been something off in the way that Sakura spoke about the village. She was obviously hiding something. The coup? Tsunade's health?

Then Boruto remembered something crucial the night he went back to the forest for the scroll.

The couple he'd overheard on the way. Their specifically mentioning Danzo's treachery happening _before_ the Pains assault.

His mind connected these pieces as he traipsed behind Naruto and Kakashi, each step becoming heavier with dread.

Things weren't happening as they should. There was no doubt that this was the past, but it was _wrong_. Was this some sort of alternate reality? A genjutsu?

He worried his lip, mulling over the new circumstances as Kakashi lectured them about who knows what back at Naruto's apartment. Frankly Kakashi's respect was the least of his concerns. Not when this "mission's" level of complication just increased exponentially.

…

_And… release!_

Nothing.

_Release_!

_Re—_

A pinch to his arm jolted him out of his task. Boruto flinched, rubbing the sore spot. Looking up, he was met with his sister's blues glowering at him.

"Boru, you're not even listening to me!" She whispered harshly. The quilted walls that now adorned their new living space provided a cozy enough climate but did little to block out sound, so even _more_ whispering was warranted when the two were alone.

The light of the lantern cast shadows across her features, making her appear much more intimidating than his good-hearted sister should look. She was nonetheless cross as she examined his hands, "What're you even doing?"

"Erm... nothing really—"

"Well then _listen_!" She burst irritably. "I was saying something really important."

Boruto held his hands up in placatingly, "Okay, okay..."

Himawari set down the bandages that she'd been wrapping around his cuts and scrapes, taking a deep, cleansing breath, eyes closed as if she was preparing for something big.

When her eyes opened again she focused them on the blankets underneath them rather than Boruto. Her fists clenched at her jacket. There was a moment's pause before she began.

"I...I don't like what you did today, Boruto. What either of you did. How could you hurt each other like that? We… we're family and I-I know it's a weird situation and that you say it's not him and stuff but well… well…" Her lashes fluttered and she manically worked the fabric in between her fingers.

Boruto knew very well what would come next. He already had a hasty apology ready, soothing words and promises that he wouldn't do it again. But before he could utilize his training as an older brother, Himawari took a slow and steady breath, meeting his gaze with such composure that it took him by surprise. "You can't fight him. Not anymore. I won't let you fight Daddy."

That sinking feeling came back at her suddenly protective expression. It tugged at his insides and filled him with dread, he looked away, "Why does it matter? It's not _really_ him and it was a fight we had both asked for. It's not a big deal."

"But it _is_." She insisted. "You both are really hurt!"

"He's practically a stranger. He doesn't really know us and we don't really know him."

Himawari's voice gradually rose in volume, "But we can get to know him! Don't you see? He told me himself that he wants to be our friend. Yours too. We can—"

"I don't _want_ to be friends with him!" Boruto snapped. Himawari flinched but her flame wasn't doused, "Why? Is it because he's our dad—"

"He's not even our dad so what's the problem!?"

Himawari tensed up and Boruto instantly regretted saying it the moment it left his mouth. He was tired, his brain was going haywire, and every muscle in his body was aching. Regardless, was all that really worth spilling the truth to Himawari?

He managed to glance up at his sister. She looked hurt, for one, and obviously frustrated with his inability to communicate. He'd come in, hastily instructing her to grab some blankets and pillows, and barely issued her a word of anything else. They'd sat in silence as she fretted over his wounds, applying what minimal medical knowledge their aunt had given them. Himawari had been more than patient with Boruto. He owed her the truth.

_But_, he averted his glance, she seemed so happy today with Naruto and Sakura. She was elated to have this bonding time with her absentee parent and looked to be enjoying her growing friendships.

"I mean…" Boruto searched his mind for a proper amendment. "Did you ever think… what if none of this was real?"

Himawari's eyebrows scrunched together, "Like a genjutsu?"

He shrugged as she considered the thought. His sister took this possibility into more consideration than he thought she'd need.

"No," she said with a peculiar certainty, "It couldn't be a genjutsu."

There was something about how easy she dismissed his theory that really bugged him. "How do you know that?" He pressed. This whole thing could have been a trick of the mind. The images construed, the people, only figments of imagination. How was she not understanding how _screwed_ they were?

"Well, cause…" Himawari seemed a bit more contemplative now. However, the moment of worry passed quickly, and she met his eyes with reassurance, "You'd know if it was a genjutsu, right? Aunt Sakura showed us what a real one was like, remember? It doesn't feel like one, so it can't be a genjutsu."

Boruto fought the urge to roll his eyes. Of course it didn't _feel_ like one, but even the most seasoned of shinobi got caught in genjutsus without even realizing it.

There was suddenly a sharp pain in his back and he flinched away from where his sister jabbed him. She retracted her finger and stared at him with a self-satisfied grin, "That felt real didn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah…" He muttered, brooding over the inevitable bruise that'd be in full bloom by morning.

Himawari giggled, pulling her hoodie over her head and folding it neatly. Boruto was left to marvel at how just a day prior, Himawari had been just as worried as him and that fact, as bad as it sounded, made him feel a little better. Now she was all smiles, back to her usual self, as she wrapped herself in a blanket, head falling blissfully onto a pillow.

Boruto may have been all alone in his anxieties about their situation, but seeing Himawari so… _herself_, was comforting enough. That and the fact that without a mirror and a scarf pressing her hair down for days, his sister's hair now looked adjacent to something he'd seen a cat cough up. He decided that he'd tease her about it when his body didn't ache so much.

Himawari swaddled herself in a blanket, looking all too giddy for being stuck in… well _wherever_ they were. She turned over and grinned up at him, eyes alight with glee, "Isn't it cool though, Boru? We're actually friends with Daddy and _his_ friends too!"

Boruto smirked at her enthusiasm, setting aside his own troubles for the sake of entertaining the ten year old, "I wouldn't say 'friends'..."

"_Yet_." Himawari interjected. "You and him are gonna be the best of friends, he told me himself."

Boruto found a pillow of his own to lie down on, "Well what does he know anyway?"

He could still hear the smile on Himawari's face as he turned the lantern off. "You know, I wonder what kinds of adventures they went on. You think all the stories he and Mommy told us were true?"

Boruto snorted. He wondered if Mom and Dad _ever_ told them stories that were true, but he smiled at the thought. It'd been a while since he'd heard a story of the old days.

Himawari sighed into the darkness, "Well, I can't wait to find out."

There was silence afterwards and soon he could hear the soft even breaths that meant Himawari was asleep.

His brows furrowed as he glanced up at the shadowy patchwork of their makeshift roof. Himawari had a point, Boruto had to admit. It most certainly didn't feel like a genjutsu but that was the point of genjutsus, wasn't it? He'd been told of the damaging effects of being trapped inside of one for too long and he wasn't too thrilled about those prospects.

But, there was also the ever prevalent possibility of this being completely _real_ and how on earth were they ever going to get back at this rate, anyhow and…

Boruto halted his mental spiral before it could get too far. He exhaled deeply through his nose, wondering where he even learned how to worry like that.

Noise in the adjacent room caused Boruto's attention to flick towards the flap of their quilted teepee. There was rustling and then a door creaked open. Footsteps padded around in the dark— bumping into the kitchen table— then leaving the apartment altogether.

He involuntarily rolled his eyes. He most certainly didn't inherit his anxiety from_ him _that's for sure. No, Naruto Uzumaki, whether he be a trick of a jutsu or another person altogether, had only two things on his mind at all times: himself and ramen.

Boruto sat up, rubbing his aching sides. If Naruto was going to go out training in the middle of the night, and indubitably treat himself to late night ramen— this was mere speculation on Boruto's part, but his chances of being right were pretty high— then Boruto could have his own late night adventure.

He quietly crawled out of the blanket fort and slid his shoes on. He ventured into Naruto's room and pried the window open. The night air was cold and biting as Boruto swung himself onto the roof.

He could go and get the scroll. Hopefully it'd still be there and then they'd—

Boruto staggered, his eye had begun pulsating wildly and his body was urging him not to move. He clenched his eye shut, pressing on it to try and siphon off some of the throbbing. Suddenly, the strange pressure released, and he was aware of Kakashi's presence not too far away.

So he was still watching them, after all. His hand hovered over his eye. That was… new.

However, Kakashi's spying certainly put a damper on Boruto's plans. The young genin kicked at the roof tiling in frustration before flopping down on the rotting wood.

Even now, it oddly smelled like home. Boruto rested his head on his knees, observing this Konoha's skyline.

Same old moon. Same old stars. It was home, kinda.

Really though, Boruto thought. Why was it so imperative for him to get home anyway?

He flicked a dead leaf off the roof, watching it drift towards the ground. It's not like he left on the best of notes. He was almost positive that his friends had had enough of him and his paternal issues and his actual father, well…

Here, he didn't have to worry about what everyone else thought. He didn't have any friends to please, no one to satisfy. It was the ideal sort of situation, but why did he feel so lonely?

He hugged his knees a little tighter when a breeze ripped through the sky. Three days had gone by since their appearance in the past and the way Boruto was beginning to see things, Himawari was happy, and he didn't have to face the guilt he'd left back home.

It was… great…

…

Before they knew it a whole week had gone by. Seven whole days after their arrival and Boruto could always sense Kakashi's presence not too far away.

The first few nights, Boruto had tried to go out and retrieve the scroll, but every time, that strange sensation would wash over him and he just knew Kakashi was lying in wait for him to break his house arrest.

So instead, Boruto would sit, staring off into the night sky, until Naruto eventually stumbled home well into the morning because training was just _so_ important to him that he did it in the day as well as into the next one. The elder blond would trudge up the path to his apartment, looking dead on his feet, probably not even taking notice of Boruto with his feet swung over the edge of the roof. The twelve year old would slide back into the window and back to he and his sister's tent.

After the fifth day, though, Boruto stopped trying to leave. In the evenings, Himawari would talk his ear off about what she had talked to Naruto about— because thanks to Boruto, they weren't allowed to leave the apartment unattended so there wasn't much else that could be done other than talking to their "cousin"— and what she'd hoped they'd do the next day.

After that two hour long conversation, she'd fall asleep. Boruto often stayed awake a few more hours longer, staring up into the darkness, listening to Naruto leave again for the night, before drifting off into sleep himself. His dreams now were strange, filled with images he didn't understand and often couldn't remember when he woke up.

As his determination dulled, his mood followed suit. The weird sense of loneliness only grew and he couldn't really understand why.

Naruto, coincidentally, wasn't any better. He wasn't as enthusiastic anymore. His energy seemed to be muted, nowadays. At first, Boruto attributed this to all of his late night training sessions but even he could tell that it ran deeper. He could see it in the glances he'd get ever so often. However, Boruto couldn't quite bring himself to mind much.

Poor Himawari was trapped in the middle, though. Noticing the difference in both their characters, she worked twice as hard to carry the energy. She smiled and grinned four times as much, at _least_. Boruto commended her for her efforts; at least they all could pretend that everything was fine when it probably wasn't.

Kakashi came around later in the week, all smiles and sneaky glances. Boruto knew much better than to take his announcement that they'd be starting genin assignments with a light heart. The jonin told Naruto that he was to meet up with Konohamaru to receive his details. When Naruto replied with a grin that was obviously forced, even Kakashi gave him a quizzical look before leaving.

The next day, Boruto and Himawari were up with the sun, per Kakashi's instructions, but low and behold as the two siblings sat in the kitchen, waiting to leave, Naruto was still in his room, sawing logs.

Boruto had expected as much considering the fact that he'd left _again_ for midnight training and came back at the crack of dawn. Usually, Naruto slept till late in the afternoons anyway, stumbling out of his room, heavy bags under his eyes and he'd mumble a greeting to them.

Then he'd go out and they had to go too. Normally, Boruto would be pretty irritated about always going out to Ichiraku and then back to the apartment, but he was tired of complaining and Himawari seemed happy to just be there, holding conversation with Naruto in which the blond would try his best to look invested.

Even though there had been this change with Naruto— though Boruto wasn't sure if it'd always been this way or not— Himawari held true to her word when she said that she'd become friends with Naruto. The two were practically closer than Himawari and their own father were and it was a bit unnerving, but Himawari was happy.

Now though, she paced the kitchen floor, nervously looking at the clock every so often and then to her brother who sat at the kitchen table, head resting in his palm. He lazily drew patterns on the table with his finger, while his sister worried over their punctuality.

"Do you think I should wake him up, his breakfast will get cold." She eyed the rice that she had made.

Boruto thought she was being _more_ than generous when she'd taken up making breakfast for the three of them. Acting as a human alarm clock, in his opinion, was taking it too far. But knowing Himawari, nothing he said would've stopped her from timidly scampering back to Naruto's room and knocking on the door.

Boruto continued to absentmindedly trace circles onto the tabletop, fully prepared for what was to come next.

Sure enough, the clambor of feet thudding on hardwood could be heard. He could hear the door swing open and Himawari's kind voice pipe up, "Good morning, sleepy head! It's time to go!"

"Huh?" Came the expected, drowsy response. "Oh yeah." A yawn. "Right."

The two made their way into the kitchen and Boruto glanced at them out of the corner of his eye.

"Did you two have breakfast?" Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"Mhm." Himawari replied cheerily. "I made some if you were hungry! It's not ramen but hopefully rice will be just as good."

A look of surprise came onto Naruto's face as she held out a bowl to him, "Really? Oh wow, thanks a lot. It looks really good!"

She smiled brightly, eyes crinkling shut as he took the bowl from her hands, "I learned from the best!"

"I'm sure it's delicious." Naruto returned her smile, though his paled in comparison to Himawari's. He then scooped up a larger portion of rice and stuffed it into his mouth. Chopsticks hanging out of his mouth, he managed a tired smile, ruffling the top Himawari's head, "Thanks, Hima."

Boruto started and the older blond quickly rushed off to the back to get dressed.

The twelve year old watched as his sister remained, staring in the direction Naruto had gone, grinning widely. He scoffed, going back to his task of tracing out small shapes, "You're enjoying this way too much."

Himawari turned pointedly, sitting in the seat across from him. "I'm just being a good friend, Boru," she said matter of factly. "Besides," Himawari leaned in close to whisper, "Mom wouldn't be happy to see that he eats ramen for breakfast too!"

Boruto rolled his eyes as Naruto came stumbling out of his room, finishing the final bite of rice before placing it beside the other dishes. He bowed slightly to Himawari, "Thanks for the meal!"

The ten year old was practically beaming, validating only making her glow brighter. She grabbed Naruto's arm and pulled him along towards the door, "Come on, let's go!"

Naruto chuckled as he was dragged along, rushed into putting on his shoes because as the girl insisted, he wasn't going fast enough!

Even with his subdued attitude, he and Himawari filled the part of "best friends" that's for sure. In an odd sort of way, Boruto was already used to third wheeling. Not to mention the fact that he'd been the odd one out everywhere they went, but he'd had a lot of practice back home too.

So he trailed behind them, Himawari not taking much notice of Naruto's participation, or lack thereof, and telling him how she was so excited to finally do some real work, she was so happy to help out!

Boruto thought that she was laying it on a little thick. She was being so sweet that he was sure everyone's teeth would rott. Then again he supposed she was only making up for the two downers she was accompanied with.

The young blond had no idea what was going on with Naruto, didn't really care all that much either, but he wished that Naruto would stop pretending like he wasn't looking at Boruto. He caught him staring on multiple occasions. What had he done _this_ time?

Boruto had relinquished his mission, for now at least, and settled for the back of the pack. Which was where he seemed to belong. He was sure that his "brattiness" couldn't affect anyone from back there, so Naruto could quit staring at him already.

After a while of trekking across the village, Boruto heard voices in the distance, eager and bubbly. At first he could hardly make out what they were saying, but when Naruto stopped, fixing his mild grin onto his face, Boruto looked up to see what had gotten his attention.

Three snot nosed brats (quite literally for the one with glasses) came running up, stars in their eyes, yelling and waving, "Boss! Boss!"

This couldn't have been _him_, could it?

The group was led by a boy with tall brown hair and a scarf that trailed behind him as he ran. Boruto's nonexistent enthusiasm seemed to decrease the closer they got.

The trio came to a stop in front of them, huffing and panting, yet smiling like idiots all the same at their beloved Naruto.

"It's been a while, Boss!" The boy rambled. "You should've been training with us since you're not going out on missions, at least that's what Ebisu-sensei told us—"

The girl jabbed him in the shoulder, whispering loudly, "You weren't supposed to say that!"

The blue scarfed boy flushed and smiled nervously, "Oh uh, I didn't mean… well, anyway, we're gonna do a great job today so sensei will see that we're ready for real missions again, and then we'll force him to take you with us, Boss! Won't it be great?"

Boruto grimaced from where he hung in the back. He could practically see the hearts in the young shinobi's eyes as he gazed admiringly at the teenager.

_This_ was supposed to be his big brother?

Naruto gave a half hearted laugh that none of the genin seemed to bat an eye at. He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.l, "Heh, yeah, maybe… Anyway," The blond took a small step back in introduction, "These are my cousins, Boru and Himawari. They're gonna be staying with me for a while."

Himawari had edged towards Boruto, giving the three a small wave. Konohamaru seemed less than impressed when Naruto diverted the attention towards the two of them, to Boruto in particular. He met his eyes with a particularly distasteful glance. "Oh yeah, didn't see them there."

Boruto twitched, not taking too kindly to his patronizing tone. The two held each other's gaze for just a moment longer before Konohamaru brought his attention back to Naruto, disposition sunny.

"Here's the information that Ebisu-sensei gave us about what we're supposed to do," He rubbed his nose and smirked, "though I already memorized all of it."

"That so?" Naruto asked with no real enthusiasm. He had taken the quite short scroll and scanned the information. "All it says here is that we've gotta deliver some supplies from the gate to a couple of sites in the village."

Konohamaru staggered, "Er yeah, I mean, I know it does."

Boruto scoffed to himself. Even Konohamaru was a brat back then, and he was actually _cool_ back home. No wonder everything here was so disappointing. Heroes had been reduced to mere headaches with scarves long enough to trip on.

They were off not too long after, and just as Naruto had said, it was just a delivery job. Ah, the remedial tasks of a genin never got old.

Though the job could have been a lot worse— they could've been finding a lost cat— the monotonous journey was doing nothing to improve Boruto's mood.

With Konohamaru's incessant chatting, Boruto thought he was going to lose his mind. How on earth could someone as cool as big brother Konohamaru be such a kiss ass?

As he trailed behind the others, he wished that they'd stop laughing so loudly, Naruto was _not_ that funny. And that maybe Udon would wipe his nose and Moegi's voice was more than a little grating and...it was all really annoying.

They'd stopped for lunch but Boruto admitted that he wasn't that hungry and would rather go back to the apartment because who was he kidding? This was torture. There was just something about seeing your idol as nothing more than a whiny kid that really got you depressed.

Himawari begged him to stay but Boruto declined and turned to head back. There was a snort from Konohamaru as he said to Moegi and Udon: "Little guy couldn't take all the work."

Boruto had sensed the territorialism in Konohamaru the moment Naruto announced that they were related. If he hadn't been such a conceited bastard, Boruto might have told him that he had nothing to worry about. Naruto was his for all Boruto cared.

He turned and narrowed his eyes at his young sensei, "What was that?"

Konohamaru obviously hadn't meant to be heard and started when Boruto addressed him. His lapse was only momentary as he straightened quickly, crossing his arms over his chest, "I mean… I get it. Someone like you would have a hard time keeping up with _us_ anyway."

Boruto rolled his eyes, "Yeah, right. In case you didn't know, I'm a genin too, so you can stop acting like you're my senior."

(An ironic statement, in hindsight, but Konohamaru didn't need to know that.)

"Oh come on, you've been hanging in the back all day, just admit it—"

Naruto interjected, "Konohamaru, quit it—"

Boruto took a step forward, "Only because you talk _so_ much. Do you ever just take a second to breathe?"

"Hey, take that back!"

"Or what?"

"I'll make you shut up!"

"I'd like to see you try."

The two were seething in each other's faces by the time Naruto pushed them apart. He scowled at both of them, "What the hell are you guys fighting for? We still have more deliveries to make, so let's finish it already."

He had wanted to snap at Naruto, tell him to back off because he was the one who'd almost overslept in the first place and since when was he concerned about work?

Instead, Boruto turned away, "Forget it, I'm leaving."

"Boru…" Himawari called out softly.

"Stay here, Hima," He didn't need her trailing after him trying to make him feel better.

Even though he wasn't allowed around the village without an escort, Naruto let him go, which he appreciated.

He passed by a dango cafe and found himself sitting at one of the booths. It was as he sat down that he realized he didn't have any money and settled on lamely swirling his straw around in a glass of water.

What exactly had that outburst been about? He wondered. He could've walked away. He knew Konohamaru was egging him on yet he pushed. Like always.

He'd been weighing the reasons for going back home, _again_, before Konohamaru pissed him off. More specifically why he didn't want to go back. He'd left his family, his friends, and wasn't feeling too keen on returning to them. But why?

He frowned. He didn't understand why he was feeling so isolated. Like he was stuck and that no one else was around and it was so weird because he'd never felt this way before, he'd always been surrounded by people he cared for. He was home, but not, faced with the question— no, _challenge_ of whether to return or not.

Naturally the answer had to be yes, they had to go back. They were still in danger of messing things up if they stayed, their existence was a secret entirely.

He blew a bubble or two into the ice water, not noticing the boy who had come to stand beside him.

A throat cleared and Boruto turned, straw hanging out of his mouth, to see Konohamaru standing before him. The genin was looking at the ground, a conflicted expression on his face. Boruto rolled his eyes, turning back to his beverage, "Come to finish what you started?"

"What? No," Konohamaru's gaze shot up. The boy sighed, muttering, "Look I came to apologize."

Boruto gave him a sideways glance, but remained silent.

Konohamaru shifted uncomfortably, as if all eyes were suddenly on him. "I um… wasn't being cool back there. I'm sorry."

The blond regarded him for a moment before almost smiling at the sight. His sensei, head bowed to him, was quite a sight. Boruto shrugged in response to his lowered head, saying, "Apology not accepted."

Konohamaru staggered, "Wh-What? Are you serious—"

"Yeah," Boruto smirked slightly. "I'll accept your apology as soon as you give me a fair match someday."

The genin blinked, obviously confused. "Um...sure?"

There was nothing Boruto could do about Konohamaru being slightly annoying and figured that he might as well make the most of the hand he'd been dealt. He didn't see any point in being irritated by it anymore. They were in this mess because of him after all.

And who knows? Fighting Konohamaru might turn out to be the most fun he'd have. Konohamaru himself stood blinking, still confused on how the conversation had turned. He shook his head as if deciding not to question it further and offered Boruto a nod at his departure.

Not long after that, a plate of dango was placed in front of him and a stool scraped across the floor.

Boruto kept his eye on his straw, flicking water around, ignoring the dessert.

"You didn't have to send Konohamaru to apologize to me. I didn't really care."

Naruto stared straight ahead, "I didn't, but that's not the point."

He quirked an eyebrow, "A point?"

"What's the matter with you?"

"Me?" Boruto scoffed at the accusation. "You haven't exactly been all smiles yourself."

Naruto leaned on his palm, "Fine. You're not wrong there. There's just… a lot on my mind."

"And there's a lot on my mind," Boruto shrugged.

"Do you hate me?" Naruto suddenly blurted.

The twelve year old finally turned his attention towards him, taken slightly aback by the change of pace. "Huh? What?"

Apparently he was serious, his fists clenched slightly, as he repeated, "Do you hate me? You can tell me, you know."

He paused for a beat, shaking his head slightly, "Why would I?"

Naruto blinked, whipping around to look at him, "I...My kyuubi… I'm a jinchuriki."

"Oh, I knew about that already."

Naruto's eyes widened comically and his posture seemed to relax. "Oh… That's um… okay. You're not scared or anything?"

Boruto snorted, "Why would I be scared?"

The elder blond seemed to be at a loss for words. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion and he regarded Boruto curiously, "Then why have you been so upset lately?"

Boruto flushed, turning back to his glass, "It's not any of your business."

"Yeah but, it seems to really be bothering you…"

"Not everyone's problems are your responsibility," he mumbled around his straw.

Naruto flinched, looking at the countertop, "You've got a point there…"

The two sat in awkward silence, the chatter of patrons filling the vacuum between them. Boruto tapped his fingers against the glass, fighting the urge to say something.

It wasn't like Naruto had been excessively annoying, recently. He'd left him alone for the most part. Naruto was already looking a little out of it himself and well… he couldn't just _not_ say something.

"Look I really… don't hate you," He grit out. "You just remind me, kind of, of someone I know… it was kinda weird at first, still is, but it's nothing, really."

Naruto looked up in surprise before slowly smiling. It wasn't nearly as wide as he'd seen it, but it was definitely an improvement. There was a little twinge of satisfaction that he'd never expected to feel in making him smile, but he took it with a grain of salt. This was only a one time thing.

An arm looped through his own and he was pulled downward as Himawari popped up, grinning excitedly, "Yay! Now you guys are friends!"

He'd wanted to correct her immediately, but she was giggling with such happiness that he couldn't do much more than sigh. Even as his head was squished against hers and Naruto too, he did feel a little bit better somehow.

Just a little.

…

**I sat here, dangling on this deadline, wondering why this chapter was so hard to write and oh um, it's 5k above my usual average sooooo, enjoy?**

**Next update: Feb. 1**


	6. Chapter 6

...

It occurred to Naruto that he had never been to the Hyūga compound by himself.

He'd always been with Sakura or someone else, stopping by to ask if Hinata (and eventually Neji) wanted to join in on their venture of the day.

Even so, Naruto's attention had always been drawn elsewhere on their visits. His arms, more often than not, were flung carelessly behind his head, his eyes scaling the massive, white walls that were impossible to see beyond.

And so they'd pass— whether the Hyūgas decided to join them or not— the towering barrier of the Hyūga compound that went on for what seemed like forever.

Naruto had always been used to walls though, the Hyūga compound was nothing to make him bat an eye at. Growing up, walls were his entire life, figurative and otherwise; the ones not only preserving the privacy of the village's most prestigious clans, but the ones barring him from nearly every establishment in Kōnoha.

Though now, these walls were lowered— no, _smashed_ down as bridges replaced them, villagers welcoming him with open arms. After all those years and even after he became something of a hero, the Hyūga's walls still seemed just as high and just as foreboding as they had always been.

It most certainly didn't help that he was practically glued to the ground outside the compound, conscience weighing heavier as the days went on. He'd had a lot of time to think, which meant facing some hard truths about himself and he was left l wondering what kind of friend he _really_ was.

A voice inside him snapped at him to hurry up, standing there ogling the solemnity that encapsulated the Hyūga estate would accomplish nothing.

It was easier said than done, however. Maybe it was just nerves, but Naruto found that the cold alabaster walls stared down at him just as menacingly as the most intimidating Hyūga official. To think Hinata was a part of the scariest clan in the village was almost laughable. Almost.

After some time of mentally slapping himself, he threw caution to the wind and jumped the wall.

(It wasn't as tall as it looked, he found out.)

He landed on top with ease, crouching down to reduce his visibility. The Hyūga compound had several entrances, each gate just as grand as the last, but he wasn't too keen on attempting every gate in trial and error, pretending he knew where he was going. Besides, he'd easily found who he was looking for.

She stood in the center of the clearing, decked in the chain mail training gear sacred to her clan's technique. The loose fabric of a shirt hung off her shoulders accompanied with a matching pair of trousers.

The heiress concentrated intently on landing her combinations on the wooden dummy in front of her. Even as he sat hidden above her, he could feel the power of her strikes reverberating through the clearing. Her momentum was relentless, even as she alternated between palms, fists, and feet— two additions he couldn't recall witnessing in her technique before.

A steady wind had long since tousled his hair. On closer inspection he could see that it was her chakra that swirled the air rather than the autumn breeze.

Naruto took a moment, not wanting to interrupt her, to analyze her technique, which was much different than his own. He'd seen the renowned Gentle Fist technique multiple times before. Naruto had witnessed Neji render many an opponent useless as he landed the calculated blows to their chakra points with a careful palm.

The blond took a second to wonder if he'd ever considered that _this_ was what the Hyūga were capable of.

Focusing large amounts of chakra into a single point, but having enough control over it to keep the wooden target intact. The air was thick with discharged chakra, and to the trained eye, it was surging with Hinata's very being.

The girl herself continued her articulations, and Naruto noticed the sheen of sweat that had glossed over her forehead, the way her breaths steadily grew labored. Still though, she hammered away, bandaged fists barely making contact with the wood.

Naruto didn't want to move. Whether it be from fascination or consideration, he stayed where he was, watching Hinata for who knows how long. It became almost hypnotic; the way her hair bobbed and swished, fighting out of the restraint used to tie it back; the fluid motion in which she'd shoot an arm out, a leg following not long after.

Sweat rolled down her cheeks, but Hinata stayed focused, moving through the alternations of palm, punch, kick, palm, punch—

Naruto's ears perked up to the sound of footsteps. From where he sat, he couldn't see who had come to observe Hinata but the Hyūga seemed too fixated on her task to take any notice of her visitor.

"Hina," the voice called out. "It's time to come inside now."

Hinata's concentration broke and in tandem, her wooden dummy splintered as her fist came to a halting stop about an inch from the surface.

She retracted her hands, regarding the wooden remains for a moment longer before turning towards the visitor, rubbing her arm sheepishly, "Right. I'll be just a second."

"You said that the _last_ time." The voice retorted. Naruto could hear the good natured teasing behind their words.

Hinata smiled all the same, "Don't worry about me, Hanabi. I think I'm finished for the night, anyhow."

"You work way too hard, sometimes." Hinata's younger sister scolded. "Honestly it's kinda scary. Don't you ever want to take a break?"

The elder Hyūga chuckled, shrugging, "No, not particularly."

Hanabi let out an exasperated sigh and her footsteps receded. "Goodnight then, Hina. Remember, every growing girl needs her rest…"

Alone once more, Hinata shook her head, smiling fondly at her sister's nagging. She picked her way around the grounds, retrieving all the fragments from where they had blown.

Naruto noticed her slow careful movements and saw her hand reflexively reach up to rub her chest. She rolled her shoulders and let out a shuddering breath before bending down to collect the base of her dummy. Hinata paused, then hoisted the base off the ground. Her arms, barely able to wrap all the way around it, trembled ever so slightly in the effort. It was on her steady, calculated walk that she stumbled— in hindsight it was more of a trip; she couldn't see where she was going after all— dropping her arms' contents to the ground, and instinct drove Naruto down from the wall, landing just shy of the clearing. Hinata tensed immediately, searching the shadows for any sign of danger, eyes widening when she found him instead.

"Naruto?—"

Before he could explain why he was on her clan's sacred grounds— okay, maybe this wasn't such a good idea— an arm was thrown around his chest and a blade pushed sharply into his back.

"Who are you and what business do you have here?" A voice hissed in his ear.

"Kō!" Hinata stepped towards them in alarm.

"Not another step, Lady Hinata," Kō barked. The kunai dug deeper and the arm constricted. To Naruto he pressed, "Answer the question."

Kō. All Naruto's earliest memories of Hinata consisted of her hiding behind a young man's leg, glancing shyly at the world. He remembered that Kō had never been particularly fond of him. When things got too hairy for a young heiress such as Hinata, he never hesitated to drag her away, ignoring her squeaks of protest. Naruto could guess he wasn't too thrilled over his jumping the gate.

Hinata, on the other hand, was looking absolutely horrified at the entire scene. "Kō, please, stop. It's Naruto. Uzumaki? The village hero? He's just—"

The bodyguard's breath was hot against his ear as he spat, "I don't give a damn who he is. He has no right to be here."

"He's my friend." Hinata took another step towards them. "I promise he's not going to hurt me. I'm not in any danger. _Please_."

The three of them stood, eyeing one another, no one making a sound. Hinata fixed her guard with such a hard stare that he eventually grumbled, hastily releasing him.

Hinata let out a relieved breath, bowing slightly, "Thank you, Kō. I appreciate—"

"I figure that I couldn't get a half decent explanation with a kunai at his throat. So talk."

And in the most opportune of moments, Naruto's mind went blank. Out of embarrassment? Maybe a little, but finally facing Hinata was _not_ something he was fully prepared for. Why couldn't he have just stayed up on the wall a little longer?

"I...uh… sorry," He finally said, albeit a bit lamely. The blond remembered to tack on a hasty bow before rambling some more, "I um... had to talk to Hinata alone and going through the gate would've made that difficult, you know?"

Evidently he'd chosen the wrong words and the wrong time to shoot off an unsteady grin. Hinata blanched and Kō's face contorted in rage. Realizing that Kō was probably going to end his life that very second, he made to amend his statement, but before he could speak, Hinata was at Kō's side, calming him down before he exploded.

"He didn't mean it like that," Hinata spoke quickly. "I just um, asked Naruto for… for…" The girl seemed to rack her brain for a decent lie and Naruto felt even worse about the whole situation. "I wanted to ask Naruto for some advice with my training. Yeah. Because I figured I could use a few pointers and well uh, yes. That's all. He only meant to keep me from getting into trouble. You see, who knows how the elders or even my father would feel if I asked for outside assistance?" Then Hinata gave Kō another one of those looks in which Naruto couldn't decipher its meaning. After several moments, Kō's expression morphed into that of a begrudging acceptance.

He flashed Naruto a look before asking that he and Hinata speak in private. Naruto stood awkwardly to the side, trying _really_ hard not to eavesdrop on the two.

"Hinata, you know this isn't proper."

She insisted, "He's a friend, you know that."

"Yes, I am well aware," He responded coolly. "but you cannot blame me for feeling some wariness. Your well-being and safety is all that I care about."

Hinata stiffened, "I understand, Kō, but… I asked that you stop guarding me."

"Lady Hinata, you know—"

"I know what the rules are but I'm not a little girl anymore. I...I can handle things by myself. I need you to trust me."

There was a sigh and then: "I apologize. Forgive me, if it's a bit difficult to leave you be. I understand your wishes, but can't help taking some responsibility in—"

"Kō." Hinata snapped. The man startled, eyes widening. "I was performing my duties as a _shinobi_. You had nothing to do with what I did."

The guard bowed deeply. "Yes. I… understand."

Hinata nodded and made her way back over to Naruto. He couldn't help but notice that she seemed... what was it?

Naruto, once again, made an effort to say something, to explain himself, _at least_, but Hinata rushed right past him, hurriedly announcing, "I'll go and get tea." And she left without giving him a second glance.

Annoyance. _Frustration_ was what he sensed.

Oh...

She stepped up into the compound and scampered around the corner, disappearing from sight.

His embarrassment only increased tenfold. Whether it was Hinata's exit or Kō burning holes into his soul he didn't know.

He'd practiced this. He'd gone over this whole exchange in his head a million times over. He was supposed to apologize, tell her what he had been thinking for days. Since when had he had a problem with expressing his feelings?

It all made him want to sink into the ground.

In the meantime, he tried making conversation with Kō, but the man was unwilling to indulge, fighting off what seemed to be his own shame. The blond would punctuate his attempts at small talk with laughter, but it came off as weak and pathetic. (Kinda like he was feeling at the moment.)

After giving up on finding any company with Hinata's guard, Naruto settled for shuffling his feet in the rocks, feeling a bit like a child in for a scolding.

The seconds wore on and he was beginning to swear that this night would never end when Kō cleared his throat. Naruto's head snapped to attention and watched as the Hyūga folded his arms across his chest with a deep sigh.

"Lady Hinata has been friends with you for many years. I've seen the way she admires you."

Naruto felt that it wasn't wise to interrupt so he kept silent as Kō continued, "I, however, can't bring myself to trust you. Flinch as you may, I mean it. I've always seen you as the brat who runs around the village, causing mayhem wherever you go, and personally I don't know how Lady Hinata is so… _dedicated_ to your friendship. But," He flicked cold, lavender eyes onto his own. "I trust Hinata. I have to trust that she is able to make the right choices."

That weight on Naruto's shoulders increased and he couldn't even bring himself to look Kō in the eye. He sensed that Kō was expecting something, a response, maybe. Some assurance that Hinata hadn't made the wrong choice in defending him time and time again so valiantly, but Naruto wasn't quite sure that she had.

"I…"

Feet padding on hardwood and the clanking of porcelain marked Hinata's reappearance. Her gaze was hyper-focused on the refreshments on the tray she was carrying rather than on anything else. She slowly kneeled and began pouring water into the cups, eyes never straying.

Kō bowed in her direction, "I leave it to you, my lady."

Finally her eyes lifted and quiet gratitude shined in them. She dipped her head, "Thank you Kō."

And with that her bodyguard took his leave, though Naruto could tell that he hadn't gone too far.

It was just the two of them now, though. She was only a couple of feet away from him but she felt worlds away. She was almost unrecognizable. Where was the Hinata who'd greet him so shyly, eagerness still evident in her soft voice? Where was the girl who looked up to him with hands clasped at her chest, eyes glistening in admiration?

Naruto could tell that this wasn't her. It couldn't be. That soft voice had yet to utter a word to him and those clasped hands were wrapped in bandages.

The blond awkwardly closed the distance between them, and he tried not to focus on the fact that she still didn't make a move to address him, the fact that his hands were beginning to sweat, that his heart was beating out of his chest.

He swallowed the lump of guilt and frustration and _regret _and pushed a smile onto his face. "I um… I'm sorry if I got you into trouble back there…"

Hinata then looked up from her task as if she had forgotten he was there at all. This glance was only brief as she plastered her very own smile onto her face, shaking her head and checking her brew, "It's alright. It's...just a formality that Kō be here." She paused, biting her lip then added, "It… it was hard for him to see me like that. He's just being protective."

He and Kō were in the same boat then it seemed. Naruto had been so angry at her, for not letting him protect her. But did she really need protection? She'd changed so much since Naruto had gotten back, he hadn't even taken the time to really consider it.

Now he didn't know what else to say. Her words… they even _felt_ differently. The enthusiasm was muted, he could tell that she was off.

But, Naruto realized, wiping the stricken expression from his face, he had no room to judge. That wasn't who he was. He wasn't the type of person to decide who his friends could and couldn't be, what they could and couldn't do.

He'd upset Hinata because he was the one to ultimately decide that she couldn't fight Pain, that it was all up to him. His fists clenched at the memory and he felt his mouth go dry.

She was sitting there, _right there_. All he had to do was say it. Two words and the rest would follow.

Why couldn't he do it?

Hinata set down her kettle and she began that habit of pulling and twisting at her fingers. He could hear the tiny exhale she took before turning her eyes up at him again, "I've actually wanted to talk to you…"

She shuffled from where she sat on her knees, biting her lip again— another nervous habit. "I-I just had a lot of time to think a-about the things you said the other night and I um, well… I don't want you to worry about me anymore," Her eyes fluttered. "F-Forget about me if you have to. I know I sound harsh, and I'm sorry but, I just…" Her eyes fell and her hands trembled from where they lay clenched at her sides. In barely more than a whisper, she shakily breathed, "I want you to see me as capable too."

Naruto's eyes widened, staring down at Hinata's lowered head in incredulity. He turned away, shame burning in his core. His fists shook with the strain he placed on clenching them shut.

"Could you just..." he bit out. "Stop it, _please_." She flinched, looking up at him like a wounded animal as he continued, "I hate that you feel like you have to apologize to me. I..." He was a coward. Truly spineless. He couldn't even bring himself to look her in the eye.

He hated this. He hated feeling this way, making _Hinata_ feel this way. Disputes had never really been part of his personality as a friend. Sure he could be annoying at times and yeah he understood that it bugged his friends on the worst of days, but this was entirely different. He'd really hurt her.

He hated how much things reminded him of Sasuke these days.

"I'm sorry. I really am sorry about the things I said the other night. I was angry and scared but _selfish_." He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "I really hope that you can forgive me."

Hinata was staring at him owlishly. He took her silence as admission that she couldn't forgive him for the awful things he'd said to her, and he understood. He'd called her weak, stupid, _insufficient_.

But a smile bloomed on her face, small and soft. Her eyes lowered and she lightly tapped the wood next to her, motioning for him to sit. He dumbly followed suit, watching her carefully.

She clasped her tea in her hands, thumbs running across the sides.

"Of course I forgive you." She told him this like it was an undisputed fact, like she just _had_ to accept his apology, whether she liked it or not. It didn't sit well with him, but he didn't interrupt. "I appreciate that you came all the way here to apologize, thank you. But I have to say something first." Naruto tensed up, perhaps the storm was yet to come?

"These past few weeks, I've worked harder than I ever have before, which is strange, I suppose, you know, considering…" She added more seriously, "My road to recovery isn't over yet and it hasn't been easy, I won't lie. I don't see my wounds as a sign of defeat, though. I see it as a reason to get stronger. To find and go beyond my own limits."

Her eyes were shining as she gazed at him and he could feel her passion. His shoulders relaxed and he could feel his anxieties gradually melt away. Naruto finally returned her smile, "I'm... glad."

And that invisible timer that dictated how long Hinata was to keep eye contact with him went off. Her eyes quickly fixated themselves onto her tea. In her token tone of voice, she said softly, "Really… I'm alright. You don't have to look after me, I _can_ do this."

Naruto suspected she was referencing not only his impromptu arrival tonight but probably all the other times as well. "You've got it all wrong!" He insisted frantically. Her eyes widened a bit and he amended, "I mean… well, Hinata, you're like one of the strongest people I know, seriously. I know you can handle yourself, honest, but, yeah, I guess that doesn't explain what happened back then…" He thought aloud, "I dunno I just… felt it, you know? You were in danger and my body kinda moved on it's own without thinking? I'm not sure…"

"The way I see it, you've always been that way," Hinata said thoughtfully. "Running into a battle head first, no matter how formidable an opponent."

"Yeah…" He grimaced. "I do that a lot don't I?"

This time Hinata mulled over the question aloud, "I guess you never really had to worry about getting hurt with your power…"

He drew his legs into his chest, falling deeper into his pit of self loathing, "Geesh, do I have a _complex_?"

With that Hinata snorted into her tea, an act he found himself laughing at as her cheeks flushed red.

"N-No. I wouldn't call it a… _complex_. It's just who you are. Now, you're really strong and well I suppose it's only natural to want to be a hero…"

Naruto regarded her curiously, though she was trying her hardest to avoid looking at him.

"And it's been annoying right?"

"What? Annoying I—"

"Come on, be honest with me," Naruto chuckled. "Ever since I got back, I've kinda been stealing all the spotlight."

She swirled a lock of hair around her finger, "Well you deserve it—"

"But?"

Hinata sighed, hands nervously tapping the side of her tea, "I...guess it's kind of… hard to get noticed with someone as great as you to be compared to."

He frowned, ready to apologize to admit that he'd been inconsiderate, though Hinata was always full of surprises, he was coming to find out.

"But," She turned towards the tea kettle and began pouring a fresh cup. "just as I promised you I'd be stronger, I want you to promise me something."

Hands clasped softly around a steaming cup of what smelled like lavender, she smiled, "I want you to promise me that you won't stop getting better. Not for me or anyone else."

His eyes shone and his heart leapt a beat at her faith. In one fell swoop the tension was shattered, and things felt… better.

There still seemed to be so much he didn't know about Hinata, or rather who she was _now_ as opposed to the timid girl he knew from his childhood. Something told him that she was going to keep surprising him, and he was glad that she'd invited him along for the ride.

He nodded before the words formed on his tongue. Taking the cup from her hands his lips curled into a smile and he shook his head with more effort, "Yeah. I promise."

…

**A shorter one in comparison to the last one, but I hope you all enjoyed it!**


	7. Chapter 7

...

"—and sometimes it's… Hey, are you even listening to me?"

"Hm? Oh yeah. The academy. Go on."

Naruto studied Boruto for a few moments longer before rolling his eyes and turning back to the path, "You know, you can tell me if I'm being boring. Better than talking to no one."

"I swear I'm listening. You can keep going."

The older Uzumaki seemed to hold his tongue begrudgingly, but of course, the words came trickling out of his mouth once more, and he rambled incessantly about his school days and how it was the best place to get trained to be a shinobi. And Boruto listened quietly, indulging in tales he'd already heard several times over. He kept his eyes trained on the sun-dappled trail ahead of them as Naruto spoke, orange leaves crunching beneath their feet.

"Boru," Naruto called over his shoulder. "You're not listening again."

Boruto's eyes snapped up, "Huh? I said that I was listening!"

"Well you've got this look like I'm lecturing you or something! Seriously if you don't want to talk I get it—"

"_Naruto_," The smaller blond interrupted. A little quieter, he mumbled, "Really, I'm not bored."

The teenager stopped and let Boruto catch up a few paces so that they walked side by side. Though he kept his gaze locked on the leaf strewn path, Boruto could feel Naruto's dubious gaze burning into him, "Sorry… you just look… I dunno, uninterested."

He shrugged, "Just thinking, I guess."

Naruto, at this point, knew better than to prod. Not that he was afraid to, Boruto learned. Usually the bickering that resulted wasn't worth the energy it took to bother the twelve year old with what was on his mind.

Instead Naruto inched just a bit closer, leaning over so their conversation couldn't be overheard by the third member of their party. "Don't worry about Kakashi-sensei. He's not like this usually, it's just a safety thing, I guess. Once he sees you're not a threat he won't follow us around so much."

Boruto's eyes skirted to the side. The silver haired shinobi traipsed just behind them, nose shoved into one of his novels.

There wasn't anywhere they went where Kakashi wasn't far behind. Today though, he insisted on tagging along rather than hiding away in the shadows. Boruto figured it was only so he could easily intervene if things went completely off the deep end.

"It's your recklessness that caused me to be here, Naruto," the Uzumaki in question flinched when his sensei a his hypothesis. "If you'd been a responsible guardian, I would have left him to you, but no. I have to waste my precious time babysitting. Trust me, I'm enjoying this just as much as you are."

Naruto rolled his eyes, "It was one fight, Kakashi—"

"Need I remind you of what happened during that fight?" Kakashi had lowered his book and fixed Naruto with a hard stare, one his student seemed to make a point to avoid.

"Besides," Kakashi added, going back to his book. "Since he's allegedly your family, we have to compensate for any bias you might exhibit in his investigation. So if you don't mind, annoy each other when I'm not around."

Boruto refrained from scoffing. Kakashi was _always_ around. It'd be hard for Naruto to hold up to Kakashi's wishes with the jonin breathing down their necks 24/7.

Naruto, on the other hand, had yet to make any response, which was definitely out of character for him. Instead the blond stared straight ahead, his entire air having changed. Sensing the tense lull in the conversation, Boruto sighed, leaning his head up towards the sky, "I'm fine." Naruto started. "I won't hesitate to tell you if you're being annoying. Shouldn't be long now."

Boruto's joking smirk seemed to be just what Naruto needed. The blond crossed his arms in mock indignation, "Hey watch it, brat. Don't forget that I'm letting you live in _my_ house."

"Yeah, yeah," Boruto waved him off. "You wouldn't let me."

Naruto huffed, rolling his eyes good naturedly, taking the lead again and letting conversation drift into silence. Boruto's own smile dropped a little as well, settling into a thin line.

Saying that he had a lot on his mind was an understatement. What with constantly trying to retain as much memory of a jutsu he'd seen once _and_ recall every intricacy in its seals, as time always seemed to be working against his memory. And even though this was literally the worst situation they could have ever found themselves in, even as day by day, they drifted further and further away from home, Naruto held this strange, unexplainable aura that made things less… chaotic.

Seven days gave a person a lot of time to think as well as forget.

It gave Boruto time to think about how he didn't really hate this. How he didn't hate _him_.

He was badly at a loss as to why Naruto, motormouth, immature, _Naruto_ wasn't somebody he could hate, or even dislike half the time.

He could remember, back home, saying that he'd hated him after one particularly heated argument between he and his father. He'd run off, locking himself in his room, feeling completely and utterly _alone_. His mother, no doubt, found her way inside and sternly explained to him that "hate" was a strong word that shouldn't be used lightly.

He was just angry, she reasoned. He shouldn't say those types of things about his _father_, she said.

Her words did nothing but stir the flames of his frustration, that only grew over the years, leaving nothing but simmering embers in its wake.

He'd decided long ago that he had nothing left to feel for his father and he'd left it at that. But, as recent events would prove, that conclusion was inherently false.

And he most certainly didn't know how to feel about this Naruto who looked a lot like his father but wasn't?— that part still made his head hurt.

If Boruto was being honest with himself, over the past few days, he didn't really know how he felt about his dad _or_ Naruto. People told him— well, whispered, all the time about how he, the Hokage's son, hated the very ground he walked upon and well, if that was so obvious to so many people, it had to be true, didn't it? He'd even said it himself. It had to be.

But he didn't hate Naruto— the one walking in front of him. Or, he didn't hate being around him. He… wasn't really sure about it anymore.

All he knew was that this was supposed to be weird and it wasn't and he didn't know what to think.

His sister, though, was having much less conflicting thoughts. Himawari was undoubtedly loving this— loving _him _as much as she did back home. And for some reason his chest filled with a little something he didn't like or want to really pay any attention to.

Himawari made the best of any situation all on her own, but she seemed to be particularly enjoying this one. He knew that she was old enough to understand that this was serious. But he could never really find it in him to tell her to stop wasting her time.

Boruto didn't think he'd seen two people closer than Himawari and Naruto. They were practically joined at the hip. One of the only exceptions being that today she had gone with Sakura, instead, who'd offered to teach her how to make herbal remedies. As far as Boruto knew, Himawari held no real interest in medicine, but seemed all too happy to not mention this to Sakura when the medical ninja asked for her specifically.

All to say, Boruto was a little upset at Himawari for leaving him alone with him, a little upset at himself for agreeing to accompany Naruto, and a little upset at the universe for screwing him over.

Said universe winked at him again when Naruto laid out some jab at Kakashi about how he should "quit being a weird old man and get a life" that Boruto couldn't help chuckling at.

He didn't really know how and where to start sorting out these conflicting emotions surging through his brain. The proximity to his not-father was making that _really_ hard. But he'd decided though, that he'd at least give this one a chance. At least at this point in his life, he hadn't made the mistakes that he would make in the future.

The trail broke way into the training grounds not too long after. The immense pines that circled them gave way to a clear, crisp sky. The same old wooden dummies freckled the grounds, and even with the time difference, they looked as battered as they had always been, which was oddly comforting to Boruto.

In the center, Choji and Ino talked up to Tenten where she was perched atop one of the wooden posts. Naruto led the way, and Boruto let himself fall in behind Kakashi.

The older blond greeted his friends amicably, going on about how excited he was to get some good old-fashioned training in, whatever that meant. For Boruto, he hadn't understood why Naruto was so eager to spar with his friends. Back home, all sparring was was he and his classmates throwing punches and a few jutsu and if someone got hurt you were in trouble because as Shino-sensei reminded them time and time again: "Sparring is simply giving yourselves and your opponent a glimpse of where you need to improve." Besides, he and his friends had gotten each other hurt on too many an occasion to be very comfortable with going all out. The way he saw it, if anyone wanted to get good training in, sparring with friends wasn't going to be the best way to do so.

"Good to see you Naruto and er, you too Kakashi-sensei." Tenten spoke. "I didn't think the sensei were joining us today?"

The jonin raised a hand in greeting, "No, unfortunately for me, I'm on a different mission today. You all go on about your training, I'll be out of the way."

With that, Kakashi disappeared from sight, likely hidden away in the trees, but all the while leaving Boruto open and exposed.

Collectively, jaws dropped and Choji, Ino, and Tenten stared wide-eyed at their newest arrival. Naruto turned too, following his friends' line of sight like there was something else to be seen.

Boruto anxiously held Naruto's gaze, hoping he'd get the cue to throw him a life line. Thankfully, he caught on, snorting, "Oh yeah, right. You guys haven't met yet, have you?"

Shock still seemed to have a hold on his friends' tongues and Naruto continued, "This is my cousin. Or distant cousin. I'm not really sure. Anyway, this is Boru. He's staying with me for a while."

Boruto himself stood with his hands shoved inside his pockets, feeling more and more awkward. He attempted a nervous smile and was a bit relieved to see Choji, shaken from the spell, step forward and offer him a hand.

"Boru, huh? Well, uh, it's nice to meet a family member of Naruto's. I'm Choji."

Boruto shook it gratefully, beyond relieved that this whole thing had gone normally and no one had—

Teal eyes replaced Choji's hulking form, and Boruto flinched at Ino's suddenly close proximity. The blonde gave him a thorough once over before whipping around— ponytail almost catching Boruto in its line of fire— and appraising Naruto with a burning scowl.

"Is _this_ what you've been hiding?"

"Uh…" Naruto trailed, finding the migrating birds in the sky much more interesting than their conversation.

Ino poked her finger accusingly into his chest, "You seriously couldn't tell us, your _friends_, about something as groundbreaking as _this_?!"

"Well, it's not that serious, Ino," Naruto cocked his head.

"Not that serious!?" She cried. "Clearly, I must be crazy because this is the most serious thing that has ever happened to you!"

Naruto scratched the back of his head, "Eh, well I mean…" While Ino continued to squabble with Naruto, Tenten expertly dismounted the beam she sat atop. Landing in front of him, she bent down (making Boruto feel a little short but that probably wasn't her intention). The brunette scrutinized him with such an analytical stare that Boruto thought she might go out on a tirade too, but momentarily her observation was over and she grinned. She extended her hand, "I can hardly tell the two of you apart. You look like a tiny clone!"

Before Boruto could get a word out edgewise, Ino seemed to exceed her limits of curiosity and put a pause on nagging Naruto. She shot to Tenten's side, nearly knocking her over in her speed. She practically melted, and spoke with the cadence as if she'd seen a puppy, "He's _adorable_." Offhandedly she said, "Naruto, you're forgiven, I suppose."

Then Ino's voice dropped its tooth rotting pitch and she sounded normal, finally addressing him with, "Hi Boru, my name's Ino Yamanaka."

Boruto faltered, having been taken aback by Ino's sudden turn of phrase. Apparently his momentary lapse was a stellar feat as the next thing he knew, the blonde wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tight, "Aren't you just the cutest! You're going to love it here!"

Boruto could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks and felt his face flare up even more as he made out the muffled chuckling of Choji, Naruto, and Tenten.

Choji spoke out to his teammate, "I never even see you give the genin the time of day. What's with the sudden change of heart?"

Ino released him promptly, to which Boruto was grateful, and turned pointedly to Choji, "This is big, Choji! Naruto's got family and he so happens to be a cuter, smaller version of the one we've got." She reasoned, gesturing to Naruto. "The snot-nosed brats here don't _deserve_ the time of day."

Tenten snorted, leaning on her staff, "You've got a point there."

"I don't think the genin are _that_ bad…" Naruto interjected.

Ino shot him a deadpanned look, "That's because they all worship the ground you stand on, which only makes them more obnoxious."

"Do you think you should be saying that stuff in front of him?" Which "him" Choji was referencing, Boruto didn't know. Regardless, Ino shrugged, "I'm joking with you in case you didn't know, Naruto. But," she snuck a knowing glance down at Boruto, "Something tells me that this one doesn't do a lot of ass kissing, so he's okay in my book."

Boruto decided then that he liked past Ino.

"Yeah, he's definitely not my biggest fan," Naruto snorted humorously, "The kid hates basically everything I like. Probably cause it's 'not cool.'"

Boruto frowned. When he said it like that it sounded...bad. He didn't hate _everything_ Naruto liked.

"Yeah I was wondering," Tenten piped up. "While it was cool and all that we met your cousin, is that the only reason you brought him along? Don't you think _this_ might be a bit much for him?"

Ino huffed, "He probably just wanted to show off. Well Naruto, I'll have you know that we don't plan to go easy on you, which is unfortunate because ChibiNaru here would see that I'm not as sweet as I seem."

"Pretty sure he didn't think that." Tenten mumbled.

Boruto opened his mouth, ready to debunk all of their claims about him and _definitely_ point out that he didn't want to be called ChibiNaru but a certain blond beat him to the punch.

"Eh, I wouldn't be so quick to judge him," Naruto knowingly smirked, "Call him the wrong thing and he'll come at you with all sorts of crazy moves. He's pretty good."

"So you're a shinobi." Tenten noted, looking as if she was analyzing an opponent as they spoke.

Ino, on the other hand, visibly deflated, sighing dramatically, "You mean he's a _delinquent_ just like us. He is related to Naruto after all, I guess I can't be surprised."

Boruto couldn't help but sneak a glance at Naruto who'd started talking to Choji. He hadn't asked for his help. Nor had he signaled that he needed it in any way. Naruto knew that he was fully capable of defending himself, yet he spoke up on his behalf anyway.

_He should just mind his own business, already… _

Despite the original goal of training, the four spent quite a bit of time just chatting with each other, easily dismissing Naruto's constant begging to practice some new training techniques on the rest of them, much to the blond's disappointment.

Boruto watched the scene quietly. Homesickness wasn't really something he had to deal with too much, but there were certain instances that made him miss it the most.

Even now, as the now bickering of the group morphed into brawling and somehow Ino and Tenten were at each other's throats and Choji tried his best to deescalate the situation and Naruto was cackling off to the side… it still reminded him of some of the things he missed most.

His friends… he missed playing video games, having post-mission lunches, training together— like Naruto and his friends _attempted_ to do. He just wanted—

"You'd think they'd be mature at some point in their lives," Kakashi groaned from a tree right above him. "But no, they're just as rowdy as they were when they were genin." Though the shadows draped over him, Boruto could still make out the look of exhaustion on his face as he listened on to their squabbling. "I really don't get paid enough for this."

Boruto wasn't sure if he was being talked to but found himself shrugging, saying aloud, "I dunno… In the end they're strong, right? Does it matter if they're...you know, like _this_?"

Kakashi glanced down at him with a disinterest that had been gradually fading over time. The jonin hummed in acknowledgement, "If you ask me they're all idiots but," He nodded back to the clearing. Boruto followed his gaze and found that all joking had been set aside, replaced by a sudden air of seriousness as Naruto explained the session's proceedings. "They're talented. Couldn't imagine how dull my life would be without them."

Boruto sensed a deeper meaning in Kakashi's words but saw no reason or place to pry. He'd heard the story of the Cold Blooded Kakashi of Konoha, and knew that he'd faced much more hardship than anyone should have growing up. He did well at hiding this though, Boruto noted. Or maybe this group of chunin (plus one genin) lessened that pain, at least a little bit.

Boruto's chest then felt a little lighter too. The yearning for home softened for a spell.

"Alright Naruto, you're the coordinator," Tenten spoke up, stretching. "How do you want to pair up?"

Naruto turned contemplative, the gears tactically working in his head. It was a wonder how he could switch back and forth between his various personalities.

"Well, I didn't really set a time for when everyone should show up, and I didn't really have any real order for how we should match up. If everyone comes, I think it comes out at an even number. Now though, I really wanted to spar with Tenten."

The brunette perked up quizzically, "Huh? Why me?"

Naruto threw his arms behind his head, "Cause when it comes to fighting against weapons, I didn't do so hot the last time."

The entire group grew solemn for just a moment before Naruto continued, "With you being one of the best wielders I know, I wanted to fight you."

"Aw," Tenten's smile came off a bit strained. "That's sweet. Though I don't know how I'll fare against your sage art, I'll give it a shot."

Naruto nodded, "I wanted to practice against close range especially… so I'll probably ask Kiba too, it's been a while since we fought. If only Sai had bothered to agree—"

Ino cleared her throat, "So what did you need us here for, Naruto? I spar with Choji all the time, you know."

Naruto shrugged sheepishly, "I mean… you guys just so happened to be around when I asked Tenten's team to come."

"Why you—"

The blond held his hands up placatingly, "I'm just messing with you. We were all gonna trade out so we can get practice on all fronts, you know?"

"Well… I guess that makes sense..." Ino relented.

"Thanks Ino," Naruto shot her a thumbs up and his trademark smile. The Yamanaka rolled her eyes walking to the sidelines with Choji. Waving a hand behind her, she spoke, "Hey Ten, hurry up and kick his ass so I can get a hit or two in."

The match started promptly after Tenten nodded the affirmative to the blonde kunoichi— and Naruto gave off an unsettled shudder.

It dawned on Boruto that for a bunch of idiots, they were pure, unadulterated shinobi. Sure they had their moments of what Boruto would love to call insanity, but he soon saw very clearly that they weren't to be underestimated.

Naruto and Tenten flew towards each other faster than a blink. In an instant, they were head to head, a kunai holding its own against a bow staff.

"They're fast," Boruto mumbled aloud.

There was a large gust of wind as the two jumped back from each other, adjusting their stances. Another second later and they were back at it, metal and wood clashing in a flurry.

He could hardly follow their movements, the only chance he had to catch up was when Naruto managed to block a swipe from Tenten's bow or the kunoichi tripped him up.

It was… _insane_. He'd grown up watching these very(ish) shinobi in their craft, but he'd never seen anything like this. He couldn't even see them, were they moving that fast?

"Having trouble keeping up?" Kakashi called down to him. If his squinting was any give away, Boruto suspecting the jonin was still keeping a close eye on him.

He stopped himself short of biting off a smart retort. "Kinda.."

Kakashi was silent for a moment before advising, "Stop focusing on their bodies. Focus on their chakra," his eyes narrowed out of suspicion or amusement, he couldn't tell, "That's basic knowledge for a shinobi."

"I know that," He muttered. Of course he'd known that, he wasn't stupid. Something obviously wasn't right. Following chakra should have been as easy as breathing for him at this point, it always had. Everything now though, was blurry, if not completely faint. He'd been following their bodies in hopes of picking up a clearer reading to no avail.

The match continued at a steady pace, though he still struggled to catch even a few frames of the action. He'd never in his life wished to be Sarada except for in this very moment, which was very frustrating.

In all his concentration, Boruto jumped when Kakashi was suddenly crouched next to him rather than perched in his tree.

"You're trying too hard," He noted.

Boruto grumbled, "Well they're going too fast."

"And do you expect them to go slower all because you can't see them?" Kakashi snorted.

"No!" Boruto flushed. "I'm _trying_, okay?"

Kakashi shrugged watching on. "I have to wonder what kind of training you received if you can't follow a simple match. They're not even at full speed."

Ignoring his comments, the genin pressed on. Given his parentage, he'd been born with a greater chakra sensitivity than most, and as a shinobi it was practically the best gift one could ever receive; it was one of the things that made him a prodigy. Every move made in a match was a crystalline image that he could copy and analyze. Why was it that now he could barely pinpoint anyone's chakra?

Determined, Boruto shook off his frustrations and rolled with the punches. Leaning forward, he squinted hard, concentrating intently. Ever so slowly, he began to capture a greater number of frames. Analyzing each and every one of them was another feat all on its own, but Tenten and Naruto had an endurance that couldn't be beat so he had the time to adjust.

"Wow." He breathed, after several more minutes of straining his eyes. He synced up just in time to see Naruto narrowly escape a devastating arial blow, with enough time to counter with several combinations of his own.

"He's something, isn't he," Kakashi observed.

Boruto could hardly keep his awe at bay. His eyes remained firmly on the two shinobi. Back home, they'd rarely even be allowed to use as much chakra as the two were using and there was no doubt they'd sustained some injuries, minor as they may be. They kept going though, forgoing every knick and scrape with no sign of pulling punches. "I didn't think he was _this_ good. Especially at this age."

Kakashi didn't seem surprised in the slightest. "Naruto's always been a special case. When he was younger, I knew the kid would become a shinobi even if it killed him, which it almost did, several times in fact." Boruto couldn't tell if he was imagining the smile he heard in Kakashi's voice, "He was always pretty powerful, just never knew how to control it. He's worked hard since then though, and he's working even harder now." Then, thoughtfully, he added, "I don't think we've seen his peak just yet."

"Yeah… me neither."

The two watched on in silence. Boruto gradually built up his speed, fighting off the exhaustion in his eyes. He huffed in quiet exasperation. He was trying too hard again. Focus on their _chakra_.

Ever so slowly he narrowed his eyes, willing himself to apply his early training with the Hyuga. Even though he couldn't use his Byakugan like his mother, sister, and the rest of the Hyuga clan, he'd received enough training on learning to find chakra points without it. He just had to focus.

With that thought, he felt tension start to build in the back of his right eye. Of all times, his Byakugan was really activating now? He froze, knowing that if he made any sudden movements Kakashi might suspect that something was up.

Boruto kept his breathing as normal as possible as the chakra surged to his Byakugan. Bright white light assaulted just vision and he prayed that he was the only one who could see it. When the light died down, the oranges and browned greens of the clearing were suddenly toned in grey.

And now, Naruto was on the ground and Boruto could make out the muffled laughter of Choji, Ino and the newly arrived Shikamaru and Shino, accompanied by a dull ringing in his ears.

_When had they…?_

But just like that, the color bled back into the world and Naruto wasn't on the ground anymore. Ino and Choji were greeting Shino and Shikamaru.

The blond and his opponent had halted their trade in blows, both panting on opposite ends of the clearing.

"You're almost as much of a challenge as Lee," Tenten smirked. "But you're not at full power so this isn't a real fight now is it?"

Naruto smiled, "If I practice this way I can get strong _and_ enhance sage art, it's basic math."

Tenten rolled her eyes, dropping her stance, "Whatever, I was promised a compelling fight. I can spar with Lee anytime I want. This is a waste of my good time."

"But it takes _so_ long to harness all that nature energy," Naruto whined.

In one swift movement, Tenten swept her bo underneath the blond, taking him by surprise and toppling him. As he hit the ground with a hard thud, Tenten sheathed her weapon, looking triumphant, "Alright, who's next? Watch out, cause I just defeated the mighty Hero of Konoha."

"Cheap shot!" Naruto called from his spot on the ground.

Tenten pointed at him, "Quit your whining and get moving, Uzumaki. You've got some powering up to do. I'm not leaving without a fair fight."

And there Naruto lay, on the ground with Tenten standing righteously above him as laughter rang throughout the clearing.

His hand ghosted over his eye. Since when did the Byakugan give him visions?

Kakashi looked down at him with what was that, _concern_?— as Boruto struggled to look less than shaken. "What's the matter?" He asked.

"It's nothing… my eye just hurts a little, that's all."

And thankfully the jonin left it alone, or rather, chose not to question it further. He scratched his hair, regarding Naruto's loss with even greater exhaustion than before, "Geez, he lost over something as simple as that? This kid I tell you…" Kakashi shook his head.

Pushing down the alarm rising in his chest, Boruto managed a laugh, "Heh, yeah…"

Kakashi gazed at him for a moment longer before standing and stretching. "That's enough excitement for one day, I think." Shoving his book into his pocket, he turned on his heel, walking further into the trees.

Boruto raised an eyebrow, "You're leaving?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Not that you'll know." He hesitated for just a step before turning back to him. "While you guys are cooped up doing nothing in that apartment, I'd prefer if you did something _productive_. As long as you're not trying to kill each other, I don't mind if he trains you; you're clearly lacking for a genin."

The blond started, watching Naruto's sensei disappear into thin air.

Meanwhile, Naruto had pushed himself off the ground and sauntered over not too far away from Boruto. He flopped down in the grass with his arms crossed, feigning annoyance. Though, he couldn't hold up the façade for long and was chuckling alongside his friends at Tenten's performance.

Naruto and his friends fought _a_ _lot_. Whether it be in combat or petty spats with each other, the amount of conflict they faced was a lot more than Boruto experienced with his friends, yet their bonds were something to behold. Boruto knew of them vaguely from tales he had been told growing up, but witnessing the level of trust as they faced off was a whole different experience.

When he and his own friends trained, there was a certain level of restraint to which they traded blows because friends didn't hurt each other, but Naruto and Tenten fought without restriction _because_ they were friends.

Were they stronger because they were less cautious or was it because the bonds they held ran much thicker than Boruto's would ever be with his friends?

Well, it would make sense… if he really thought about it he only became friends with Inojin and Shikadai because their parents had been friends. That was the case with _most_ of his friends. Did that mean they weren't real friends at all?

Boruto's eyes fell onto Naruto, who'd gone into meditation. Judging from his look, he was harnessing nature energy per Tenten's command, and was about as still as a statue.

It was laughable how he concentrated all the seriousness in his being into training. Even though he'd seemed adverse to the whole thing, he did it anyway because his friend had asked him to. And, Boruto thought bitterly, _he_ didn't need any help in making his friends.

The whole thing kinda sucked when he considered it further. His closest friends were only the children of his parents' closest friends? That was hopelessly _lame_. The twelve year old yanked up blades of grass, crushing them between his fingers before flinging it off to the side.

At least he had Mitsuki and Denki and Iwabe. It softened the blow of his apparent dependency ever so slightly. It helped, at least, to have some sort of context as to why his friendships suddenly felt vastly inferior to Naruto's, albeit a little upsetting.

His father said something about getting to choose the people he called his friends and frankly, now that Boruto was seeing true comradery, that was a load of crap. He pulled more weeds out of the dirt, roughly picking them each apart, one by one.

Boruto didn't get to _choose_ anything. Everything had been decided for him. He was the Hokage's son. He was _Naruto Uzumaki's_ son. The next generation of the village's renowned Konoha 12. He didn't get to decide little things like who his friends would be or how great a shinobi he'd be. Because of his parents' legacy, his future was already set in stone.

And that kinda sucked.

Still though, however prearranged his relationships may have been, he still deeply cared about them, and didn't regret their friendship in the slightest. Even though all he seemed to do was make them angry.

As a kid, he'd been told once that he had his mother's heart and his father's temperament. Naruto didn't seem to overthink things, and didn't really know what buttons not to push. Although he sometimes surprised them with a strange display of emotional intelligence, his mother was always better in that category. Put them together, and Boruto was the result, someone who knew exactly what buttons he might push and going forth and pushing them _all_ specifically because it yielded the most satisfying outcome— at least, in the heat of the moment.

Did that make him a bad person? A bad friend? he wondered.

"Hey."

Boruto lifted his head and looked over at Naruto who'd ceased his meditation in favor of getting the twelve year old's attention.

"Yeah…?" The younger blond raised an eyebrow in questioning and a cheeky grin split across Naruto's face, "You spaced out again."

Boruto didn't even try to deny his claims, mumbling, "Oh yeah?"

Naruto leaned back on his hands and rolled his eyes once again, "Look, just _tell_ me if this stuff is boring. I promise I won't be that mad." Smiling softer now, Naruto nudged him, "With your skills, I thought you'd be at least a little interested in all this."

A new match between Choji and Tenten had begun, and he could guess that Naruto was eager to watch it, but he chose to bother him instead.

Boruto rubbed his arm, avoiding his eyes, "It's fine… just thinking."

They were far enough away from the others that their conversation could hardly be heard over Tenten and Choji's match— a particularly loud one at that, as Choji sent tremors through the ground with each blow— but Boruto still couldn't help his uncomfortable fidgeting.

"About what?" Naruto pressed. "It's obviously something serious, you've been like this for days." He added on hastily, "I mean if you don't want to tell me that's fine too!"

Boruto went back to mutilating his grass patch, deciding whether to come up with something to say or just dismiss Naruto's claims again.

"...I'm gonna ask you something." (Screw it.) "But I won't do it if you're gonna be weird about it."

Naruto's eyes had practically bugged out of his head. At Boruto's warning he quickly settled his facial expression into barely contained seriousness before nodding firmly.

Boruto sighed, resting his head on his fist, "You're pretty good. At fighting, I mean."

Naruto blinked, visibly unsure of where this was going. "Uh... thanks."

"Your friends too." He continued awkwardly. "You guys seem close. Even with you being...you, and beating each other up and stuff. You guys are still friends."

Naruto cocked his head as if this was a simple fact, "Well, yeah. So?"

But it _wasn't_ that simple. It couldn't be. Why didn't he get that? "I'm just _saying_, you guys _actually_ fight a whole lot yet still seem really close."

"Oh," Naruto laughed at that part. "We do, don't we?" He shrugged, eyes now focused on the fight as well, "You know, it's not _always_ me who starts fights. Only sometimes." He laughed, "We've always fought a lot, I think, but you know, I think that's what makes us friends. We're all kinda competitive so it keeps things interesting."

"So because you guys like to fight, you're close friends?" The logic didn't make all too much sense to Boruto but the proof was standing—_fighting_ right in front of him.

"Uh, yeah? Maybe?" He smirked, "Why? Need some tips from your good ol' cousin in making friends?"

"What? No!" Boruto turned on him. "What I don't get is why beating each other's brains in is considered friendship!"

Naruto shrugged blithely, "Dunno. It's just how we are I guess."

A particularly loud thud sent the ground vibrating and set the trees around them rustling. The two blonds turned to see Choji retracting his enlarged fist from Tenten, who laid in a small dent in the ground.

While he was being showered with congratulations, Choji profusely apologized to the kunoichi who was as flat as a pancake. "I'm so sorry, I-I overdid it, I didn't mean to—"

The brunette sat up, rubbing her head, looking otherwise not too badly scathed. She smiled good naturedly at her opponent though it paired as a wince, "Don't worry about it! You won fair and square, Choji. I'll be just fine." He offered her a hand and hauled her up. Tenten sighed, patting his shoulder in passing, "Though I am a little pissed that you took my crown from me."

Choji blinked, dazed and Ino called, "All hail Queen Choji!"

Shikamaru added on lackadaisically, "Slayer of the Slayer of the Hero of Konoha."

Choji chucked sheepishly, still a little put off by his victory. Shino soon stepped up after all the praises had subsided and both of the former adversaries had thanked each other for a good match.

"Way to go, Choji!" Naruto called from their spot in the wings.

Boruto drew his attention away from the clearing and back to Naruto.

"That's the secret, huh?" He murmured to himself.

Naruto's attention suddenly snapped back to him, "Secret to what?"

Boruto flinched, his attention towards weed picking revived, "Friendship and stuff…" He fought off an embarrassed flush.

"What, fighting?" Naruto scoffed. "I mean yeah sure, it works for us, but don't think that they have to beat you up in order to be friends with them."

"I wasn't thinking that." (He was just a little bit.)

Naruto clapped Boruto on the back, "Good cause you're family so my friends are your friends, without having to kick your ass first! But," He shoved a hand onto Boruto's head, pushing hair into his eyes, "If you wanted a chance to get in on the action, don't hesitate to ask!"

Boruto rolled his eyes, watching Shino's insects swarm and overwhelm Choji.

"Get off," He muttered, shoving Naruto's hand aside. The older blond snickered, turning back to the clearing. Choji was attempting to swat Shino's insects away with his expanded appendages any way he could, but of course, they wouldn't be so easily daunted.

Boruto hesitated, flinging dandelion petals to the side, "Maybe later."

Naruto looked like he was going to ask what he had said when all of a sudden the buzzing of Shino's insects stopped. In the ongoing match, Choji had gathered up all the swarming insects with his enlarged hands and flung them as far away as possible. A bit pointless since they could fly, but it bought him some time.

Evidently not as much time as Choji expected. Upon readying for another attack, he locked up and subsequently staggered to the ground.

"Some of the insects you touched," Shino stepped towards the fallen Akamichi. "Secrete a slight toxin, especially if disturbed. Attacking them wasn't your smartest move."

At Choji's terrified expression Shino spoke, "The toxin is almost harmless, don't worry. At first contact, there's paralyzation but that lasts only for a couple of seconds. Enough to win me the match."

And with that their fight concluded. Everyone praised Shino's strategy and once his bearings were straight, Choji approached the insect user for feedback and ways to face them better in the future.

_So much for holding back, Shino-sensei..._

The dynamic of this group certainly was unique, Boruto decided. But it worked.

"Naruto! Are you ready yet?" Tenten called from across the grounds.

Boruto was quite positive that Naruto had dropped their conversation as he had already jumped to his feet, making his way back over to his friends. Proving Boruto wrong once again, Naruto shot him a thumbs up before sauntering over to the group, "Eh, sage mode is kinda pointless now that you lost, don't you think? How about this? If I win maybe five or six rounds without using it, then maybe I'll power up!"

And that's when Tenten's bo seamlessly kissed the crown of Naruto's head.

"You said it yourself, how are any of us gonna get better if we hold back?"

And thus the older blond was exiled back to the sidelines, nursing a tender wound. Boruto shook his head as he saw Naruto sulking off to the side rather than gathering nature energy as he should have been. If he wanted to be stubborn and get another blow to the head then he guessed that was on him.

A few rounds later and Naruto was back up and itching for a fight. Shikamaru yawned lazily, not matching the blond's enthusiasm in the slightest and having been perfectly fine with facing off sans sage mode.

Boruto was actually fairly interested to see how this match would go. Shikamaru wasn't a close range fighter and wasn't known for his taijutsu skills, yet he didn't seem at all worried about going up against Naruto. Seeing Shikamaru's renowned skill as a tactician was something Boruto had yet to witness.

As the match began Boruto sensed something off right away. Though he looked fine, and was fighting with no issues, something with Naruto had changed. He couldn't explain exactly how but it was like his chakra had just _changed_. Had he collected nature energy and thrown his perception off? Boruto's senses were clouding in and out so there was a good chance he was imagining things but still...

"You really looked like a loner over here." Without further ado, Ino claimed a spot beside him with the rest of the gang in tow. "And you say you're related to Naruto?"

"I was fine by myself—"

"It's good to see you again, Boru Namikaze." Shino gave a short bow before claiming a seat in the shadows.

Choji smiled before flopping down himself, "What kind of friends would we be if we left you hanging out by yourself?"

"Oh um, thanks I guess." And Naruto's friends settled around him, getting back into the match. And the fight wore on, with Shikamaru looking a little too bored fighting against the human powerhouse. Naruto's friends would comment every now and then, but otherwise they remained in deep concentration. That is until another member of their party showed up.

"Hinata, you made it!" Tenten beamed.

Choji added, "Good to see you too, Kiba."

He took note of how content Hinata looked as she spoke among her friends. The tension that Boruto had sensed within her had all but vanished. In fact, Hinata seemed happier than ever.

She was slightly out of breath, saying that she couldn't stay long, but was glad to see everyone.

Ino and Tenten lamented her departure, and Kiba rubbed at his nose bashfully, "Aw don't worry, I'll be back soon!"

He didn't seem too perceptive of their unamused glares, and mounted his loyal companion.

"Hey, Hinata, you ready?"

She stood, issuing everyone a goodbye, and even caught Boruto's eye, smiling before she turned to her teammate and the three went on their way.

He couldn't help but wonder if she'd know anything about his Byakugan. He had a sneaking suspicion that it was throwing off his chakra perception too. Such thoughts were obvious nonstarters, alongside the fact that his dojutsu was especially unique, but if his Byakugan was acting up now, when they finally fixed the jutsu, would it even work with just Himawari? And what about her Byakugan? What if she was having issues too? What if—

"Uh, Boru? Are you alright?"

His head snapped up and found four sets of eyes on him. He laughed sheepishly, "I'm fine! I'm fine! Really!" He supposed he did look a bit strange for anyone who was observing him and his internal conflict.

"For a kid you sure do worry a lot." Tenten commented.

"'Worried?'"

"Well, yeah. The whole time you've been here, you've been all brood-y. Not having any fun at all."

"N-No I wasn't!" Boruto insisted. "I was just thinking about the fight!"

A knowing look crossed Ino's face and she gracefully crossed Boruto's personal space barrier. "No point in lying, I'm practically a human lie detector."

A cold sweat involuntarily formed on Boruto's brow at the look the blonde was giving him.

"Don't tell me," Ino crossed her arms, smirking victoriously. "You're hiding something."

Boruto momentarily blanched, she wasn't kidding around about the lie detector stuff.

He shook off his shock and shrugged, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Is that so?" She obviously wasn't buying into that lie either. "Think you can just come into our circle without a background check?"

"Background check? Huh?"

Her eyes narrowed, "Don't play dumb. You're way too cute to _just_ be Naruto's cousin."

"Well," he retorted dryly. "That's all I am."

"Oh?" Ino searched his face for any clues that might give way to the answer that she wanted. By now, Boruto was used to her invasiveness and wasn't as appalled by her proximity, bearing it with an eye roll.

"Hey, Ino knock it off, will you?" Choji interceded the cross-examination. "Don't you think he's had enough for today?"

Ino turned pointedly to her teammate, ponytail back with a vengeance, "I just wanna know where the kid came from."

"That's kinda rude, Ino," Tenten commented.

Ino gawked, "I'm not trying to be rude or anything! I swear I'm just curious!"

"Sounds like nosey to me," The brunette sang.

"I am not!"

"Are too…"

"Am _not_!"

"Are too."

It was quite comical how quickly fights erupted with this group. In a matter of seconds Ino and Tenten began a heated staring match that even Boruto could predict was going to lead to something physical in no time at all. Shikamaru, who'd ended his match with Naruto by saying that he had seen all he had needed to see, and tagged Choji in his place, pulled them apart with relative ease, then found a patch of grass beside them to lay on. His eyes were shut and if Boruto didn't know the Nara brand, he would've thought that he was sleeping. But the blond saw the telltale eye twitches that signified his consciousness and guessed that he was just as curious as the rest of them about Naruto's "long lost relative."

"If it's no offense to you," Shino cleared his throat. "Where are you from?"

"Oh, not far." Boruto repeated the rehearsed line. "Just a small village to the east of here."

"See, Ino. _That_ was polite."

Shino continued, "It's my understanding that you're a genin. Perhaps you would like to participate in a sparring match against me? Though, I should warn you, I won't lose."

Boruto stiffened at his words. Who knew Shino-sensei was even blunter when he was younger?

"Excuse him," Tenten barred him from saying anything else. "That's just Shino-speak for 'I'd like to spar with you some time, in a completely _friendly_, light-hearted match.'"

Boruto was already pretty well versed in the speaking habits of Shino Abarame so he shrugged all the same, "Well I guess that'd be okay—"

Arms suddenly squeezed protectively around him, "No way, Shino. ChibiNaru wouldn't stand a chance! I won't have you traumatize the poor kid!"

"Actually," Boruto easily slipped from Ino's grip. "I can fight perfectly fine."

Ino smiled patronizingly, "Of course you can. Shino's bugs aren't something to bat an eye at though and you are just a genin, cute as can be."

Shikamaru grimaced from his resting spot, "Ino, _please_. Cut it out with the cutesy stuff."

"I just don't want to see him get hurt is all."

Boruto scoffed, rolling his eyes. If Ino wanted to underestimate him that was her problem but the nickname was probably ruffling his feathers a lot more than it should've.

"If you feel that way, then fine. I'll fight _you_ and prove that I'm a lot more capable than you think."

"Aw I'd love to!" The blonde cooed.

"You'll have to excuse her," Shikamaru told him lazily. "She gets like this sometimes. It's best to ride it out."

Boruto noticed that despite all his efforts to stay as neutral as possible, the blond realized that he had been (forcibly) integrated into their dynamic. And as much as he hated to admit it, Naruto's friends were… pretty cool. He was actually _enjoying_ himself, as crazy as they were. (The thought of going back home and telling his friends that their parents were actually cool, made him recoil.) He gladly reminded himself that his friends' actual parents probably were as lame as they all believed and this was only another trick of the alternate timelines.

"Alright, Boru we're up!" Ino bounced up.

"What?" Boruto spluttered. "You were serious?"

She put a hand on her hip, "Of course I was, unless you want to rethink your challenge."

And all of a sudden, he felt the telltale surge of adrenaline making its way through his body and he stood, "Not a chance."

Naruto's friends cheered him on as the two entered the clearing. Naruto himself had seemed slightly confused, but grinned happily.

"Boru, you need my kunai?" Naruto called from the sidelines. And Boru could help but feel slightly embarrassed considering all his weapons had been "confiscated in fear of endangerment to self and others." He shook his head all the same, meeting Ino's eye.

"No, I think I'll be good."

Ino smirked, lowering her stance, "Cocky aren't we? Must run in the family."

Boruto shrugged, following suit, "If you say so."

Everyone waited with baited breath until Ino finally made the first move. When she suddenly appeared several feet closer to Boruto, he knew her speed would be an issue. He slipped out of the way just in time and Ino's fist flew into the ground, smashing it with an undeniable amount of force.

Once he was clear, Boru gulped at the damage dealt. The fifth Hokage's technique had been passed to two pupils. Though Sakura remained under her tutelage for much longer, Ino was no one to drop guard around.

"Geesh, Ino don't kill him!" Tenten yelled.

"I won't," the blonde called back. "I'm simply giving him a first hand view of where underestimating me will get him."

Boruto swallowed his nerves and leveled his head. Before he could even formulate his plan properly, Ino was at him again. He jumped out of the way once more as Ino's attack sent debris flying.

"Oh come on, ChibiNaru. You can't just keep dodging."

"Yeah I know that." He muttered.

"Well, I'm ready to have a little fun."

"You'd make a great villain, by the way, Ino." Shikamaru butted in.

"Shut it, Nara!"

There was his chance. In the moment that she was distracted, he had to quickly formulate a plan.

She didn't let up. Her attacks weren't as powerful as he'd seen in Sakura's, but what she lacked in strength, she made up for in endurance. Also there was that pesky mind transfer that he'd have to watch for. She hadn't used that trick yet so she must have been saving it as a last resort.

So his only option seemed to be to strike just as quickly and just as hard. As soon as he shifted movements, Ino's eyes zeroed in on him, watching intently. However, she was a moment too late, he'd woven his final seal and sent a concentrated gale palm spiraling towards her.

She was quick enough to block, but it did push her back a foot or two. The blonde looked down at the razor thin lacerations on her forearms and grinned maniacally at him, "What do you know, you've actually got some tricks up your sleeve."

He'd catch her off guard with a few wind attacks, keep her on her toes, then at the last moment he'd throw her for a loop. He had his plan, but conducting it would be the hard part.

Ino had cut her speed in half and Boru didn't have any time to react before he was sent flying. He twisted in the air, landing on the ground before he could be thrown into the trees. He sent two more attacks, stronger than the last and Ino was nearly swept off her feet. At the third attack, she dodged.

"You're starting to get predictable." She grinned, rushing him.

"So are you." Before she could strike, he sent out a charge of lighting. She narrowly slipped past it. Eyes wide and stance slightly off, she gawked at the smoldering patch of grass behind her. "You can use wind _and_ lightning?"

He answered her with another surge of energy. It missed her but the air was crackling with electricity, setting her and their audience on edge. Lightning had never been his strongest element and he still had trouble honing it, but it might have been the only thing that gave him a shot at winning.

Ino had quickly shaken off the shock and was bounding towards him once more. He could sense the chakra building in her fists as she shot towards him like a freight train. Hopping out of the way, Boruto sent another wave of semi-controlled lightning in his wake. His intentions weren't to strike her, that much was obvious as his hits were too far off to be considered accurate. But he needed to keep his distance for the time being.

Ino held too much power for taijutsu to be effective in this match for him. But if he kept it up with long range attacks, she'd no doubt use her signature jutsu, costing him the fight.

Another round of dodging and his right hand began shaking, trembling from the strain. If he kept going, he'd do more damage to himself than to Ino.

The blonde had grown increasingly frustrated and her movements were getting sloppier, "Do you plan on fighting me anytime soon or do you plan on electrocuting everyone here?" She glanced down at his twitching hand, "From the looks of it, you're not gonna last too much longer, which works out perfectly for me."

She was slower this time in her launch towards him. He'd obviously worn her down.

Quickly weaving through the seals, he slapped his palms onto the ground, sending all his chakra into a wave of wind that swept low across the clearing. As predicted Ino was sent toppling, and not so predicted, face planting into the mud she'd smashed up.

Boruto froze watching with eyes wide as Ino laid in the dirt. She was _too_ still. Their audience had paused too, an air of foreboding soon washed over them.

Looking back down, Ino had twitched, digging her nails into the grass and pulling herself up. He didn't think he was prepared for the rage that was scripted all over her face.

Boruto bit his lip, feeling something he _knew_ was a bad idea, bubble up in his chest. The teenager was absolutely seething, her face streaked in browns and greens and she didn't look hurt, but wow did she look insane.

"You're _dead_." She spat.

And when she uttered her final decree, Boruto really couldn't help it anymore and he exploded. He laughed until his stomach hurt and when he took time to breathe, he heard that his amusement had spread to the rest of them.

Ino was up, telling her friends how absolutely _not_ funny this was, which only seemed to make them laugh more. He could tell that even Shino had cracked a smile.

Boruto's own laughter had dwindled down and he hoped that maybe Ino had had enough for the day, it sure looked like it at least.

"Hey, Ino, why don't we call it a draw and—"

"Oh _no_," Ino whipped around, hair falling out of her impeccable ponytail. "We're not done here, you little punk. You think you've won? Got your little laugh in? You made a huge mistake." There was a lilt of insanity in her smile and Boruto really wished he hadn't laughed or at least hadn't tripped her.

And once again she raced towards him, fist outstretched. Boruto wasn't in any way prepared and felt like a cornered animal. He had to think quickly cause he was sure that she was gonna kill him. In the last few seconds before Ino closed the distance between him and her fist, she brought both arms up and angled her finger and, oh no...

There wasn't any time to dodge and he wasn't too psyched to find out what she'd do to him when she completed the jutsu. So on pure instinct, his eyes zeroed in on a spot just at her midriff and as quick as he possibly could, he shot behind her.

Her eyes widened and at his blow, she was thrown off balance, but luckily caught herself this time.

"Huh?" She spluttered, still struggling to keep balance. "How did… What the hell did you do to me?"

"What do you mean?" He threw his arms behind his head.

By now her equilibrium would have returned and she stood, eyebrows knit in confusion.

Judging from the looks of it, everyone had had their laugh and didn't catch all too much of Ino's second wind.

"Hey," Boruto called to Ino. "Sorry about all that. You're pretty strong, and that was the only way I was gonna win."

Ino blinked at him in surprise before clearing her throat and crossing her arms over her chest, "Well… don't do it again, got it? Next time I won't be so nice."

Boruto smiled nervously, hand coming to scratch his neck, "Yeah, I'll try."

Everyone had begun to group around him, marveling at his kekkei genkai.

Hands dropped heavily on his shoulders, "See I _told_ you he was awesome!" Naruto grinned toothily at his friends.

Kiba had returned and he sniffed, "He's definitely got some skill. He'll have to fight _me_ next."

"No way, Kiba!" The effervescent Rock Lee had joined the fray too, words shooting out faster than he could process. He turned to Boruto and bowed deeply before bouncing in the much shorter shinobi's face, "If it is alright with you, I'd very much like to battle you next, Mr. Naruto's Relative."

Kiba shoved Lee out of the way, "No dice, Lee. I got here before you _and_ Neji so I get dibs."

Wait…

"Oh… I guess that you're right, Kiba…"

And through the throng of Naruto's friends Boruto met the lavender gaze of one Neji Hyuga.

Shit.

...

**writing in the POV for a 12 yo is much easier than writing from a 16 yo's ?**


	8. Chapter 8

**well. i could've cut this in half but we die like men**

...

The great thing about ramen was that it tasted good no matter the weather, your mood, or the time. It was always perfectly delicious.

The even better thing about ramen was that it tasted _even better_ when you were in a _good_ mood.

Today, Naruto had gotten to see his friends _and_ get a good couple of fights in. That, Naruto declared, called for celebratory ramen, and Boru, for the first time ever, had no strong objections about the idea.

Well, he'd still looked like he didn't want to go, but looking at him now, he seemed to be enjoying his meal as well. In fact, he'd almost caught him _smiling_.

Boru had done almost a complete 180 that day, and it made Naruto happy that his friends could help his cousin feel better. It hadn't gone unnoticed that the younger blond had been bothered about something for some time, but he'd gone and claimed that he was fine. It had been a stretch, but being invited along for a training session with his friends would've certainly taken Naruto out of a bad mood and it had seemed to do the trick for Boru. For the first time, he'd seemed maybenot happy, but content, at least.

"What are you smiling about?"

Naruto snapped to attention, realizing he was feeling a little too self-satisfied, "Huh? Oh...nothing."

Boru eyed him skeptically before diving back into his noodles.

Naruto wanted to let it go, he really did, but this was a pretty momentous occasion. He had _actually_ succeeded in introducing his cousin to something that he _liked_. He'd actually smiled kind of!

"I'm just glad you had fun today." Naruto admitted with a hesitant grin. Then he tensed, waiting for the anticipated blow up, and you know what? He wasn't going to even be mad about it because no matter how much Boru denied it, Naruto knew the truth.

Instead though, Boru shrugged, not paying him any extra attention. "Yeah, it was fine." He said around his ramen. Suddenly realizing his drop in character he amended hastily, "I-I mean, _I guess_! Not like it was a big deal or anything…"

Naruto smirked, "It's too late, you already admitted it: you had a good time."

His cousin slumped in defeat, groaning woefully.

Naruto pointed his chopsticks at him, "You know, it's alright to have fun. Even if it is with me and my friends," He thought for a moment, adding, "Well, they're your friends now too. So it's not weird at all."

Boru paused, staring down at his food, "My friends, huh?"

"Boru!"

Footsteps rapidly approached and before they could turn around, Himawari came crashing into the little shop, wrapping her arms around her brother. She grinned widely up at him and without missing a beat gave Naruto a matching smile.

"I'm back!" She announced cheerily.

Boruto untangled her arms, not looking nearly as enthused. He gave her a once over, skeptically pulling at the jacket she wore, "Where'd this come from?"

Now that Naruto looked at her, she'd had a whole wardrobe change. A pale orange hoodie replaced the old winter coat she'd worn this morning. And she didn't look like she was struggling to fill her sandals anymore.

Tugging her sleeve away from her brother, she sheepishly rubbed her neck, "Um, well…"

Sakura pulled aside the curtains of Ichiraku accompanied by Ino.

"I guess they were here after all." Ino commented. Both Ino and Sakura expertly handled several large bags and settled down onto a stool, issuing greetings to him and the owners as they sat.

"Naruto is a creature of habit," Sakura shrugged, to her teammate she added, "Himawari was a great help today. We could use someone as eager as her in the hospital."

"I'm glad she had fun," He smiled down at his cousin.

When he turned back to his food, he was suddenly assaulted by Ino and Sakura dumping their baggage off onto him.

"What the—? What's all this?" He asked, hoping that in their haste, nothing had knocked his ramen over. When all appeared unspilled, Naruto shuffled the bags around in his lap in confusion. It wasn't exactly common for the two to buy him lunch let alone presents.

"Those are for Himawari." Ino supplied.

Her outfit now made sense, though he'd been under the impression that they were working at the hospital all day, not shopping. "Uh, what for?"

Sakura sighed, shaking her head, "The poor girl was drowning in your hand me downs, we had to get her _something_."

Naruto blinked, puzzled. Sakura had told him that they'd be in the woods collecting herbs so he'd given his cousin something more durable to wear. Himawari had left the house in as good a spirit as ever, albeit, looking little more than walking, talking article of clothing.

His teammate rolled her eyes, "We took her shopping for things that she might actually want to wear. She's a ten year old girl; she shouldn't be wearing your old clothes. Oh," Sakura leaned over the counter, hanging dangerously close to his meal. He carefully slid his bowl out of the way. "We grabbed some stuff for you too, Boru."

Naruto's double issued an uncomfortable thanks and Naruto continued his meal in his lap as Sakura struck up a quick conversation with Boru.

Buying them clothes wasn't really something that crossed Naruto's mind. He'd been too occupied with making sure they were eating "balanced meals" as Boru put it. He'd told him that there wasn't a more balanced meal than ramen, but bought new groceries nonetheless.

Regardless, he was thankful he had friends that looked after him as well as his family. Himawari was kind and strove to please, which meant she was too nice to speak up and voice her discomfort. Naruto decided firmly that he'd make it up to her with Ichiraku. Due to their initial aversion to ramen, Ichiraku had become one of Naruto's midnight ventures. But if Boru actually liked it, Naruto knew that she would too.

"Himawari, did you want anything?"

"We already—"

"Yeah!" The ten year old cut Sakura off. She eagerly climbed up onto a stool beside her brother leaving Naruto to chuckle in amusement.

A curious look crossed Sakura's face as she watched the girl place her order. She'd dismissed whatever thought had been running through her head and smiled fondly down at the Namikaze siblings. "I'd say they're adjusting nicely." Sakura noted quietly.

"You think so?" Naruto asked, unable to completely mask the anxiousness in his voice. As he was growing to find out, kids— namely Boru— were wild cards. The past week _had_ been better than the previous. And he'd gotten lucky that Boru had had fun earlier. He was afraid to think that next week would be a complete flip.

She leaned on her elbow on the bar, resting her head on her fist. The look in her eyes as she watched his cousins warmed his heart. "I can't speak for Boru, but Himawari adores you." She tipped her head and looked at him, "Can't you tell?"

The ten year old was busy talking her brother's ear off, taking breaks every so often to stuff a helping of ramen into her mouth, before starting up all over again.

Naruto shrugged, "I guess so… but she acts that way around everyone once she gets to know them."

"Oh, don't be so modest," Ino interjected. "She practically lit up when she saw you two."

He hummed in acknowledgement, finishing his bowl off.

"You're awfully quiet," Sakura trilled teasingly. "I'd swear this would've been your crown achievement."

"I just don't wanna get this wrong, you know?" He mumbled. "I really don't know what I'm doing."

She nudged him affectionately, "You're doing great. Honest. Himawari couldn't stop talking about you. And from what Ino tells me, Boru had a pretty good time with everyone today too."

"Yeah," Ino added, with just a tinge of bitterness. "You should've seen the kid, he was practically one of us. I think it's unfair that the brat could be on our level, but he's alright. Though he did burn himself with his own jutsu."

"How did he burn himself?" Sakura gaped.

"He's fine," Ino assured. "I fixed him up and he should be good to go in a couple days."

Naruto couldn't help but feel oddly reassured by Sakura and Ino's observations and found himself smiling, and added, "Even though it was kinda Ino's fault in the first place."

"No way, _he_ was showing off."

"Ino, he's twelve." Sakura shook her head.

She crossed her arms, "Yeah, you fight him and try telling me _'he's only twelve.'_ ChibiNaru is no joke."

Sakura cocked her head, "ChibiNaru? What—"

"I told you to stop calling me that!"

"What's a ChibiNaru?"

And Naruto loved these little moments. With his friends, now his family too. He'd had a lot of downtime lately with being on suspension, but he'd never get tired of times like these.

A slight draft whisked through Ichiraku as two more patrons found their way into the shop.

"Oh, hi everyone." Tenten greeted. She was accompanied by a very pissy looking Neji, so the picture was pretty normal. "Funny seeing you guys here."

"We know that Naruto practically lives here." Neji scoffed.

"Good to see you too, Neji," Naruto responded dryly.

Neji was a jerk half the time, but Naruto knew that they were friends, so he couldn't bring himself to be too annoyed by his terrible attitude. It was a wonder he and Hinata were even related. He perked up at the thought, turning back to the newcomers. Ayame had begun to prepare Tenten's takeout order and the kunoichi had started up a conversation with Ino and Sakura. Neji, just as always, stood with his arms crossed and his eyes closed as if just being around people grated on his nerves.

This guy… Would it kill him to crack a smile every once and awhile?

"Hey, Neji, I meant to ask you earlier: where'd Hinata run off too?

His friends gave Naruto a curious look.

"You don't know?" Ino asked. "I thought she told everyone."

"Huh? Know what?"

"Lady Tsunade cleared her today." Neji supplied. "She had to have a physical exam so she said that she'd only be able to stop by."

"Oh," Naruto blinked. He figured that would've been something that came up in conversation when they'd last talked, but he guessed that she hadn't thought about it. And despite the uncomfortable looks everyone seemed to be giving him, he was happy for her. To Neji he nodded, "That's great! Tell her that I'm glad."

Neji looked at him oddly before slowly nodding himself. And to Naruto's surprise, even Boru was giving him a strange look.

Did he do something wrong?

"What?"

"Ah, it's nothing, Naruto," Sakura patted his arm reassuringly. "Neji," she turned to the Hyuga. His friend was particularly good at changing topics. "Ino was telling me how much of a challenge you were today. She said you breezed through everyone like it was nothing. Next time I'll be there to show you a couple of my moves."

Neji hadn't immediately responded and Naruto had noticed his eyes wandering the entire time he'd been there. What was his problem _now_?

The shinobi waited a beat before responding, "If you insist, I'd have no problem sparring with you. Today's match ups were particularly… _interesting_. I have no doubt that you have your own surprises."

"Uh, yeah…" Sakura seemed to be able to tell that Neji had taken the conversation in an entirely different direction, and followed his line of sight to Boru and Himawari.

Naruto's eyes narrowed, "Is there something wrong?" He'd known that Neji had never been his biggest fan, especially back when they were kids. He, like everyone else, held the same animosity towards him for being the carrier of a demon. So Naruto was well acquainted with that _look_.

Boru and Himawari hadn't so much as moved since Neji and Tenten showed up and he didn't blame them. Neji had a glare that could kill, but Naruto didn't take too kindly to having it directed at them.

"Naruto," Neji spoke, slicing the growing tension. "Where was it that you said your relatives were from?"

"Why does it matter?" Naruto asked evenly.

Tenten stepped in, "Neji, quit it. You're being rude."

The Hyuga ignored his teammate and continued locking eyes with Naruto. "I only ask because of what I saw earlier today."

"What are you talking about?"

Neji's eyes narrowed, "The older one. When I arrived to see he and Ino's match, there was no mistaking the technique he used. I know gentle fist when I see it."

If anyone had been eating, they'd stopped now. The shop was dead quiet with the exception of Teuchi chopping vegetables, but even he tried to keep it as quiet as possible.

"The hell are you talking about?" There was no mistaking the hostility radiated from the shinobi and Naruto wasn't going to stand for it, friend or not.

"That's what I hope to find out."

That smug _bastard_. Naruto jumped from his seat, fists clenched, blood boiling. Neji stood completely still, eyes cool, arms crossed, awaiting some sort of explanation he thought Naruto owed him. The blond didn't know anything about gentle fist, but Neji wasn't going to stand there and threaten a twelve year old.

"I don't know what the hell you think you're trying to say but—"

"Naruto."

Boru's voice cut through the sound of blood pounding in his ears. His cousin had turned, looking as calm as ever. "Sit down, why don't you? Geesh, all he did was ask a question."

Naruto gawked. Was he _serious_? Here he was trying to defend them and Boru was taking Neji's side?

"Seriously," he sounded exhausted. "You don't need to punch the guy or anything."

He then met Neji's gaze as if it were nothing. The kid had guts, that was for sure.

"So, you saw my trick."

Neji didn't skip a beat, "I want to know why you know gentle fist."

"Because a member of the Hyuga clan taught it to me."

Even Naruto had to stop at that one. He hadn't really demanded any details about Boru and Himawari's past. He didn't see any real need to. But it looked like they held a few more secrets than they expected.

Neji had lost his rigidness and his eyes had gone wide. "That's...no, that's impossible. The Hyuga family resides _here_. We've made sure of it."

"In my village there weren't a lot of shinobi and there were few who knew actual martial arts," Boru responded simply. "One of those people happened to be a Hyuga."

Neji seemed at a loss for words and so did everyone else. Boru met each of their gazes as easily as if he hadn't just revealed a groundbreaking secret to them.

His cousin continued, "I don't have the Byakugan, but I was born with a pretty sharp perception of chakra so I guess it's almost as good as the real thing, right?" Boru laughed. When no one seemed to reciprocate he rubbed his neck, "Guess I should've told you guys that before, huh?"

Neji blinked a couple times in an attempt to shake off the obvious confusion he must have felt and cleared his throat. "I um… well… I apologize for how that came off." He bowed hastily, obviously still in a daze.

Tenten was next to break the silence.

"Neji, what the hell! You're so _mean_. Would it have killed you to have asked them nicely?!" She slapped the back of his head. Grabbing their ramen, Tenten bowed to both the Namikazes. "I'm so sorry about him. He's normally tolerable, but he can be a jerk." She grabbed Neji by the wrist and hauled him away.

When the two left, the remaining party subsequently recovered from the shock.

"So _that's_ why I lost." Ino gasped, breaking the silence. "That can't be fair! Not only can ChibiNaru use two elements semi-functionally but he knows gentle fist too? Clearly I was at a disadvantage."

"If that's the way you want to put it…"

Naruto felt like his cousin was at least ten times cooler and how was _that_ fair? He was _twelve_.

"That's _so_ awesome," Naruto gaped at him. Boru looked guilty, like he expected Naruto to be upset. In fact, he was the opposite, "Yeah you should've told me, but that's _so_ cool."

Boru let out what Naruto assumed was supposed to be a laugh, "Heh, you think so?"

"O_bviously_. Even Neji thinks you're cool." Naruto would never forget that it was a twelve year old kid who got the stony Hyuga to drop his cold exterior and actually leave him speechless, and he didn't think he'd let Neji forget it either.

"I guess it would be hard to keep everyone in a family in one place, even the Hyuga," Sakura pondered.

"Yeah," Naruto smiled at his cousins. "I guess it would."

…

After Ichiraku, Naruto and the Namikazes parted ways with his friends and had begun to head home. That is until Himawari reminded him that he'd promised he'd take them through the shopping district. Naruto assumed that she'd had enough shopping that day, but she insisted that she still wanted to go.

Boru, on the other hand, looked a little worn for wear, and Naruto had even offered to let him go back to the apartment.

He shook his head, walking ahead, "It's fine. Come on before it gets too late."

Naruto found it a little funny trailing behind Boru. A week ago Boru would've dragged Himawari off without a second thought. Time did wonders.

Rather than the pissy little brat he'd first met, to Naruto he appeared more like a middle aged parent than a twelve year old kid. Out of the three of them, he was definitely the voice of reason. But there were the rare times when he'd get to see Boru acting his age, and it made him happy.

The weight that Boru was carrying on his shoulders was something that Naruto didn't think he'd fully understand, not for a while at least. But now though, he seemed at ease. Even if he was a little tired.

Luckily they'd arrived in the shopping district right before the crowd hit so Himawari got her chance to marvel at the little knick knacks in the windows as they walked on, but when he'd asked her, Himawari smilingly told him that she didn't want anything.

She would just pull him along asking him what _he_ liked and Naruto didn't know how to answer that.

"Ramen's probably my favorite thing." He told her.

She gave him an unamused look, "Not _food_. You know, like _things_?"

"Uh," he searched his mind for an answer that would satisfy her. "I don't know. I guess I've never thought of that. What do you think I should want?"

She huffed in exasperation, "That's not how it's supposed to work. You have to like _something_."

"Mm," he considered. "Well I like a lot of stuff. I guess there's just not a lot that I actually want. I'm pretty happy with what I've got. Is there anything _you_ want?"

The ten year old hummed, taking in all the shops and their contents before looking up at him and shaking her head, a giant grin burst onto her face.

"Not at all! I'm happy right now!"

And that smile only made his own that much bigger and he laughed. Himawari really was something. She had a softer appearance than he did and looked a little less like him Boru did, but she reminded him of himself all the same.

So bright and enthusiastic about everything under the sun. She was a delight to everyone she encountered and though generally shy, she seemed to be in too good of a mood to revert back into her shell, skipping along and waving at those who paid them a glance.

"_I didn't know there were three of them. Is this some sort of training?"_

"_No, I don't think so. I hear those are his relatives or something, come to live with him."_

"_They're practically identical!"_

That sort of thing was getting a little old but the Namikazes didn't seem to be too bothered by it and when he looked at Himawari prancing along— she hadn't been this lively in her old clothes— he had to admit they _did_ look more alike than usual.

With Himawari's new outfit, she and Naruto were sporting the same color scheme, though she seemed particularly suited to it.

Himawari looked back and noticed him staring. "What's wrong?" She'd stopped.

He shook his head, smiling, "Nothing. You just look happy."

She nodded vigorously and danced over to her brother, catching his arm and swinging it back and forth.

"... _but_ _Himawari adores you."_

About an hour and a half later of walking around and Naruto made the executive decision to head back home, because man, did Sakura and Ino get them a lot of stuff.

The trek home was much longer than he would've liked and every so often Naruto had to adjust his hold on not only the "presents" his friends had gotten for the Namikazes, but the youngest Namikaze herself. She had practically fallen asleep on her feet, but kept saying that she wanted to keep going. Boru had offered to give her a piggyback ride and it wasn't long after that she'd fallen asleep.

As much as he wanted to keep up a tough exterior, Boru was radiating his own waves of exhaustion. Naruto shook his head, easily taking the smaller Namikaze and sliding her onto his own back. Boru had objected, but Naruto refused to stop, keeping a steady pace.

Eventually Boru's complaining and insistence that he was just fine dwindled down to nothing in record time.

But even so, Sakura had gotten them a _lot_ of stuff and it didn't help that they were on the complete opposite side of the village from his apartment. There was always a time for training, he supposed, as strange as it was.

"You could've just sent a clone to take all that back to your apartment, you know?" Boru muttered, still recovering from the "blow to his ego."

"So could you!"

"Hey, you said it yourself. All my chakra is spent."

Boru had him there. His cousin _had_ exerted a lot of energy and frankly it was a wonder he hadn't passed out himself.

The older blond waited a beat before saying, "Well… I kinda can't, so there."

"Does it have anything to do with why your chakra is so different now?"

Naruto almost had to double take. "W-What the hell do you mean? You _knew_?" He spluttered.

Boru shrugged, "Yeah. It's been like that for a while hasn't it? I meant to ask you about it earlier."

The blond was at a loss as to how the twelve year old acted so level-headed all the time. He relayed all this information with his hands stuffed in his pockets, gingerly walking along the road.

"Boru, hang on." He was still trying to wrap his head around all this.

Naruto hadn't wanted to cause any panic when all of a sudden his chakra had depleted in the middle of his match with Shikamaru. He'd felt fine otherwise and so long as he didn't exert himself, his main reserves didn't take too large of a hit. He'd thought that it was a result of prolonged exertion but this had been different from chakra exhaustion or meeting his limits. Naruto had felt that many times before, but this was something else entirely. His chakra hadn't gone back to normal in weeks and it only seemed to be getting worse. Boru's observations only confirmed his suspicions.

The blond stopped and eyed him curiously. He didn't seem to know that he'd discovered a problem, so Naruto kept his voice level.

"What do you mean my chakra's _changed_? How do you know that?"

Now his cousin looked as if he'd regretted he'd said anything at all, shuffling where he stood, "I can feel it. I told you. My perception is more sensitive, so I could feel when it changed. On the outside you're fine, but it's like the entire flow is different…"

And what could Naruto say about that? Not that he knew what any of that meant but it certainly didn't sound _good_.

"So what's going on? What did you do?" There was an edge of panic in Boru's voice that Naruto didn't like. It wasn't like him at all.

He attempted a smile, "Don't worry about it. My chakra's been acting weird for a couple weeks now. But I feel fine! Besides, you could tell if something was wrong, right?"

"I mean I guess, but that doesn't mean that nothing's wrong." Now Boru was really starting to scare him. "You could be dying or something."

As per usual, he chose to mask the situation in humor, "Aw I didn't know you cared."

Boru flushed, stammering, "Shut up!"

"You're gonna wake your sister up."

Boru clamped his mouth shut and instead fixed him with a simmering glare.

"Seriously," he said evenly. "Don't rely on what I say. I'm just a kid."

"So?" Naruto shrugged. "You're like the most badass kid I know. But don't tell Konohamaru that. Anyway, your word is as good as any."

Boru looked at him hopelessly, "You're a moron…"

"Look," Naruto began seriously. "I don't care what Kakashi-sensei says. You've proven yourself plenty. If anything, your fight today _proved_ that we were related. Though, sorry you got hurt."

Boru gazed down at his bandaged arm. "I don't really mind it all that much anymore." He flexed his hand a bit. "But don't go and change the subject. You need to get your chakra looked at."

"But can't you do it for me?" Naruto whined.

"No! Geesh, you're such a baby," He rolled his eyes. "Why don't you ask your friend Neji? He can actually _see_ chakra, you know."

Naruto scoffed, "Neji's an asshole. I don't feel like talking to him."

Boru shook his head in defeat, "Still, I'm not the best person to ask about all this stuff going on with you. You probably need to go to the doctor or something."

"I can't go to the doctor!"

"Why not?"

Himawari shifted into his back, when she didn't wake, he lowered his voice, "Well, cause…"

Boru narrowed his eyes. "Your suspension ends tomorrow doesn't it?"

Nothing got past him, did it? "Maybe…" Naruto whistled.

Boru scoffed, his mood taking a turn, "I swear you're such a dumbass. Do missions mean _that_ much to you? You could be sick, but you won't go to the doctor because you want to go on missions again? Unbelievable."

He swore he triggered the kid at the drop of a hat. "I promise I'm not sick or anything. I'm perfectly functional. I just feel off. And don't act like you know _everything_," Naruto informed him. "Sure I like missions, but are you forgetting that I have to pay for not only myself but you guys to live too? And you two don't even want to eat cup ramen. That stuff is cheap."

The fight in Boru melted immediately and he dropped his eyes, "Right. Sorry."

"Don't apologize, really," Naruto waved him off. "Missions are like the best thing in the world so I don't mind."

"Well, get someone to look at it anyway," Boru muttered solemnly. "Himawari would never forgive you if you end up hospitalized for something as stupid as this and I'll never hear the end of it."

"She won't take it that personally."

"Oh she will. She likes you much more than me." He said without the cadence of joking. Before Naruto could comment on it, Boru added haughtily, "And while we're at it, since Himawari got to drag us out tonight, _I'd_ like to make a request too."

Naruto dropped it, thinking it was a conversation for another time. "What did you have in mind?"

"You can take me to the library one day.".

"The library?" He chuckled, "What for?"

"I have to do _something_ when you're gone." He sounded embarrassed for even asking.

"Don't worry," Naruto grinned. "I'm sure Kakashi-sensei will keep you busy enough."

"...Shut up."

...

For the first time in a while, Naruto was up bright and early. Well… _earlier_. He could hear the sink running in the kitchen and the telltale signs that Boru and Himawari were awake. It couldn't have been earlier than seven, but they had a certain level of discipline that Naruto could only dream of having.

And again, he felt that tingling in his chest. The one that made him feel like pinching because none of this could have possibly been real.

In two weeks he had gone from having no one to having two people to call family. In the past _month_, he'd lost his godfather, met his father for what felt like _seconds_ before he too was lost only to their memories.

While everyone else was recovering from the wounds they'd sustained in battle, Naruto had the luxury of the nine tails to heal him. His broken bones had taken all but seconds to fix themselves and he'd emerged unscathed, however, emotionally? That had been a whole other story.

Family seemed to be something that was as easily given to him as it was taken away, and sitting there all alone in that apartment stung a little more after the defeat of Pain.

But now, after seventeen long, lonely years, it seemed that maybe, this would stick. Maybe he'd be able to enjoy this family for a little longer.

He shook off his brooding thoughts and prepared for the day with a bit more vigor. There wasn't any point in dwelling on the bad stuff. He'd enjoy what he had now and wouldn't worry about what was to come.

But _still_, he thought, shutting the door to his room and making his way into the kitchen, a small part of him feared that he'd wake up one day and they'd be gone.

As he entered the kitchen, Boru was sitting at the table, an apple in his mouth as he bent over one of Naruto's generously "borrowed" books from his academy days. Taking a bite, he raised an eyebrow at his cousin's appearance.

"You're up already? Kakashi hasn't even given you a mission yet."

For now though, they were still here, and Naruto sought comfort in that. He smiled brightly, shrugging, "If I get down there early enough, they might have some missions left over."

Boru didn't have to voice his skepticism for Naruto to hear it loud and clear. He paid him no mind because he couldn't just sit around the house any longer; he was itching to do _something_.

He _did_ notice that Himawari hadn't given her trademark good morning yet, which was strange. No matter what time he woke up, she was always there with an energy that rivaled even his.

She stood at the sink, solemnly filling up a watering can for her plants.

"Hey," He not-so whispered to Boru. "What's up with Himawari?"

Boruto snorted into another bite of apple, rolling his eyes. His sister whipped around and glared at him before turning back to the sink.

These two communicated a lot using sibling-telepathy or something because half the time Naruto felt he was a couple steps behind.

"Erm, am I missing something?"

Boru sighed, "Himawari's upset that you're leaving. Now no one's gonna be around to buy her stuff."

"That's not true!" She insisted. Quietly turning off the sink, she mumbled, "It's just… um… well…"

"_She'll miss you._" Boru finished mockingly.

Himawari swatted at him, telling him how mean he was.

She'd… _miss_ him? Naruto didn't know what to say about that. He hadn't had anyone _miss him _before, but come to think of it, he was pretty new to all this. He left Himawari floundering for a response as he stood trying to figure out how to exactly react.

Words seemed to fail him in situations like these, so he settled on resting his hand affectionately atop Himawari's head. She tensed, looking up at him in surprise.

"Don't worry," he said reassuringly. "I shouldn't be gone too long."

Himawari's eyes fell to the ground and her face scrunched up doubtfully.

"I swear! Look, I promise I'll be back before the sun goes down."

"And then we can play?" The youngest Namikaze asked.

"You bet."

And with that promise, she finally smiled. "Okay! Have a great day!"

With Himawari's official blessing, he really felt like he could have a good day. But, looking at the clock, he wouldn't have much of a day if he didn't even get a mission.

Himawari tailed Naruto all the way to the door. She crouched beside him while he put his shoes on, clenching the watering can close to her chest. Despite his reassurance, he could still tell that she was a little upset that he was leaving.

"Tell you what," Naruto stood. "When I get back we can go to the library with Boru."

Himawari glanced at her brother, "The library? What for?"

"I dunno," he shrugged. "Didn't know your brother was a book worm."

"Oh,"

He opened the door, waving in departure, "You two stay out of trouble while I'm gone, okay?"

"We will! I promise!" The girl nodded determinedly. She put a hand up to her forehead in a mock salute, "I'll make sure Boru doesn't cause any trouble."

He mimicked the motion, "I'm counting on you."

He and Himawari shared a laugh at Boru's indignant grumbles before he finally made his way downstairs.

…

The village was just beginning to wake up as he made his way to the Hokage tower. While some businesses didn't open up till more reasonable hours, others were up with the rising sun, bright eyed and bushy tailed, greeting him with a nod, though others _still_ felt the need to stop him and give him the whole thank you speech.

As much as he loved talking with the villagers and being on the receiving end of their gratitude for once, if he kept stopping, at this rate there'd really be no missions left. So he bypassed taking the street route in favor of the rooftops. And sure, a couple of villagers would look up and see him passing and wave, but at least up there it was harder to rope him into a ten minute conversation.

Approaching the Hokage Tower, he could see a few shinobi leaving on their assignments, the early morning rush having dwindled down.

Hopefully, he thought, jogging up to the complex, he could wear Tsunade down enough to give him a mission; that tactic sometimes worked. Just as he was about to enter though, a familiar face caught his eye.

Hinata walked down the path and back towards the village and Naruto paused at the entrance. It had been a little more than a week since their talk and he hadn't even gotten to say much of anything yesterday. His hand hovered over the door handle as he followed her path.

"_Himawari would never forgive you if you end up hospitalized…_"

And even though he was dying to get a mission, he turned away from the Hokage Tower and made a beeline towards his friend.

"Hinata, hey!" He called out.

She'd stopped, looking back at him in quiet surprise, "Oh, Naruto, good morning."

"Morning," he grinned. Naruto eyed her in playful suspicion, "What are you doing out so early?"

She stiffened, not reading his joking tone, "Oh, I um… just received my assignment from Lady Hokage."

"So soon?" Naruto marveled. "Wow, I see you don't wait around. I heard you got cleared yesterday. Congrats! At least one of us is back on missions."

She began to pull at a lock of her hair, though that nervous energy she always seemed to emit was toned down. "Yes, I leave later on today." The Hyuga looked in the direction he'd gone in, "Did you have a mission today too?"

"Ah, no… I came to actually ask you something."

Hinata gazed up at him, "What is it?"

Now that Naruto really thought about it, this was a lot harder than he'd initially thought it was going to be about thirty seconds ago. He'd all of a sudden felt so exposed though no one was paying any real attention to them.

"Um…" His eyes darted every which way, as if the answer on how to alleviate the awkwardness he felt was written somewhere. And it didn't help that Hinata was looking at him like that. When had she started doing that? Of all times for Hinata to stop being _Hinata_, she'd chosen now?

He nervously chuckled, "Heh, it's kind of hard to explain…"

And her gaze was unwavering and earnest and made him feel all the more exposed.

"But it's kinda not that big of a deal, really. I uh…"

Then Hinata's eyes grew concerned and he swore that she could see right through him even without the use of her dojutsu.

He smiled dismissively, "Hey, are you hungry? We could have some ramen at my place. Or something else… I'm not the best cook, but I'm sure we could fix up something."

She started. Her eyes dropping instantly and her fingers working methodically through her hair, "Um…"

There she was. The Hinata that no matter what he seemed to do, was so uncomfortable around him. "But if you don't want to that's fine too. I know you have a mission and I shouldn't have bothered you, sorry—"

"I-I was just going to say that I have a few errands to run!" She interjected quickly. Her gaze was still locked firmly on the ground and she kind of looked like she was going to puke. Naruto frowned. He hadn't been aware that going to his apartment was so undesirable. Before he could dismiss the whole thing altogether, Hinata shakily continued, "I could… m-meet up with you. T-Thank you for the invitation." And in perfect fashion of a trained heiress, she bowed, "I'd love to come."

When she came back up, Naruto suspected she'd taken the bow for a little too long. Her face was completely flushed and she still looked like she might collapse, but when she suddenly fixed him with a determined look he realized that she was set on helping him, even if she wasn't feeling well.

"No problem," he grinned awkwardly.

She sounded out of breath when she nodded, "Right. I'll be off then."

From the way Naruto saw it, she wouldn't make it ten steps let alone finish all her errands. "Hey wait," He grabbed her by the elbow. "Let me help! With your errands, I mean. With me along, you'll finish twice as fast and still have enough time to get ready for your mission."

"You don't have to!" She squeaked. She'd seemed even more unsteady now than before as she waved her hands. "I-I… Really, it's not a lot, honestly I'll be fine!"

"Yeah, maybe," he shrugged. "But if I help out with your errands, we can hang out since we didn't get to yesterday."

Her eyes went wide and she blinked. Naruto didn't think he'd ever completely understand Hinata, but he was glad when she seemed to regain her sense of balance.

"Okay." She finally said. It had been quiet. Resolute in a way that sounded like she'd lost a battle. Naruto couldn't bring himself to be bothered by it too much. He and Hinata never really ever hung out, but he agreed that things between them would change. That he wouldn't just be her knight, swooping in to save her whenever the situation called for it.

So he was going to help her with errands, and she was gonna like it! They were _friends_ after all.

He nodded, "Right! Lead the way!"

She gave him a tentative smile at his characteristic enthusiasm, but it was shaky at best. She didn't say much at first as they continued on her way into the village, looking deep in thought, and Naruto, rather than pay attention to all the greetings he was getting as he passed, had begun to wonder if maybe she really didn't want him to go with her.

That was until he noticed the smile she tried to hide from him as they traversed deeper into the village.

In tandem, his mood— and thoughts on his decision to accompany her— were at a lot more ease.

"You're not sneaky, Hinata. I can see you smiling."

She snapped to attention, and surprisingly, she made no move to dismiss his claims like he'd expected. Instead she nodded towards the villagers in passing who'd covertly whisper to one another or stare at him a bit longer than necessary. "You're really popular."

"Oh yeah, that. I kinda don't notice it too much anymore." Maybe it was a little vain of him to say, but so long as villagers weren't flagging him down for their attention and he _wasn't_ in a rush, he didn't notice so much. He hummed in thought, "They usually crowd me, if I'm not careful."

"That definitely sounds ah, eventful." Naruto knew that Hinata was far from a people-person or crowds-person in general, so he was glad the villagers had more important things to do.

Hinata mainly led the way, and Naruto followed along dutifully. She didn't say much, but he supposed she never really did to begin with. They were very… different from each other.

Hinata broke him out of his spacing, "Over here, Naruto." She'd stopped at a small bakery a couple paces back.

He veered over, but stopped just short of the entrance. It was still early and it looked like they hadn't even opened yet. "What're we doing here?"

And his question was answered when the door creaked open and a middle aged woman poked her head out. She greeted Hinata with a smile, "Hinata, it's so nice to see you! It's been a while hasn't it?"

She bowed, "Good morning. I'm very sorry I haven't been by, I've been a little busy."

The woman gave a sly once over to Naruto before chuckling, "I see… Besides that, come in dear! Come in!" To him she said, "You too, Mr. Hero."

Naruto snorted at the nickname and followed Hinata inside.

The smell of fresh baked goods assaulted him as soon as he crossed into the threshold, and he was reminded that he'd stupidly skipped out on breakfast.

A man behind the counter— Naruto guessed it was the woman's husband— was stocking the display case with a tray of all kinds of sweets. He really hoped that he could keep the rumblings in his stomach as quiet as possible; of all the days to leave his money at home.

"How many people are you gonna let in here before we even open?" The man grumbled.

The woman had squeezed in beside him to box a couple of sweets, swatting at her husband as she wrapped them up.

"Oh, hush, it's only Hinata."

"Good morning, Mr. Kodaichi."

And despite his quite gruff demeanor, the man nodded, continuing with his task. "Nice to see you. What's it been? Weeks?"

"You know how it is with shinobi. Especially one as hard working as she is. Here you are, dear," she handed Hinata a box of sweets all tied up with a ribbon.

"Naruto," Hinata called. He snapped out of his hunger induced trance and hoped that he didn't look too pitiful.

"Yeah?"

And Hinata thought she was so sneaky, but he saw the humor in her eyes as she addressed him. "Cinnamon rolls? Is that alright?"

He blinked in confusion, "What?"

"Do you like them? I got enough for you and Boru and Himawari too."

Gods bless Hinata.

He nodded his head way too eagerly, "Yeah, it is! Thanks so much!"

She bowed to the two vendors and Naruto quickly followed suit before taking their leave.

"That's so cool of you, Hinata. Really, thanks."

"It's no problem," she smiled easily. "They taste better fresh, if you wanted to try one now."

"Ah," He rubbed his neck. "Was it that obvious?"

Again she tried to hide that little smirk, "Just a little…"

Opening the box, he retrieved one of five sweets and gratefully tucked in.

"Hey, there's eight?" He asked around Hinata's generous donation. He'd seen Hinata put down several bowls of ramen, so it wouldn't be unusual for her to eat more than a couple, especially since they were so good; Naruto felt like he was in heaven for just a few blissful seconds before it was all gone (or maybe he was just hungry).

"Neji almost likes them more than I do," Her eyes widened at her accidental admission,"Um but, please don't tell him I told you. I guess he likes to keep it a secret."

Naruto snorted. Leave it to Neji to think that liking sweets was a career ruining secret. "Don't worry, I won't use it against him unless I have to." He was still a little upset about last night, so using his pretty lame secret as payback looked pretty good. Unfortunately though, Naruto wasn't one to stoop down to such levels, unless he was really provoked. Besides, they'd resolved it in the end and Neji had had semi-plausible intentions. Cornering his twelve year old cousin might not have been the best way to go about it, but he had apologized, so Naruto couldn't hold it against him.

"Seriously though," He internally mourned the loss of such a delicious treat. "These are really good."

"I'll be sure to give the Kodaichis your compliments." She teased lightly, "I'm sure they'll appreciate them coming from you."

"Ah right… the hero thing.." It was funny how that sentiment would have meant absolutely nothing weeks ago.

Sensing the slight change in tone, Hinata backtracked,"Mrs. Kodaichi just seemed really pleased to see you, is all. I didn't mean to be offensive…"

"No, it's alright," Naruto quickly reassured her. "I'm not upset or anything. The whole being a hero now is still kinda weird. I mean a couple weeks ago I was as good as nobody and now..."

He didn't really know how to form the words he was looking for, but Hinata looked like she understood, or at least made her best attempt to, and it was strangely comforting.

"Naruto," she started. "Is everything okay? You asked for my help earlier, and I don't want you to think that I've forgotten." She'd stopped in her tracks, giving him her full attention, all humor set aside for the time being.

The village was bustling with life now as everyone prepared for their day. Hinata has been right. He was a hero. If he'd announced in public that he could be _dying_, who knows what would happen? The village still wasn't back to one hundred percent and it'd be a while before they got there, and given the coming winter and the growing harshness of the shinobi world, they needed a symbol of hope now more than ever.

"We can talk about that later," He deflected. "Now though, we probably should run the rest of your errands."

"But—"

"If it was that serious, don't you think I'd tell you?" Naruto pointed out. It really wasn't that bad, probably, but it wasn't something that he wanted Hinata to get worked up about.

The fight gradually simmered out of Hinata as she mulled over the credibility of his assertion.

And it took all of a few moments for her to finally accept his terrible excuse, or at least decide to press him about it later.

"Okay…" She slowly relented, taking a folded paper out of her pocket. "Once we finish these, we can talk about it, though it shouldn't take long—"

The prospect of his cross examination coming sooner rather than later sent him into red alert. He snatched up Hinata's list out of her hands, holding it out of reach. Hinata yelped in surprise, too gentle to outright steal it back. Plus, she was a lot shorter than him now, so his impromptu stalling was working in his favor. "Hey, we don't want to rush now, do we? With your…" He examined its contents, and cocked his head. "Groceries?"

It seemed like such a mundane thing for Hinata to be spending the few hours before her mission. Hinata was loaded, wasn't she? Didn't rich people have, you know, _people_ for that sort of thing?

Her face had gone pink again and she twisted at her fingers, "I just thought I'd pick up a few things." She laughed sheepishly, "Call it a guilty pleasure, but I really enjoy it."

He'd never heard of anyone _enjoying_ shopping, but leave it to Hinata to make it a first. Naruto handed her list back. "I didn't think that grocery shopping was so fun."

She smiled to herself, "Ah, I don't really know. Just a little hobby of mine, it's silly…"

"No!" He interjected. The last thing he wanted was Hinata closing back up again when he'd made so much progress. "No, that's, uh cool. Unique, you know?"

She'd look thrown off by his admittedly lame compliment and nodded slowly.

"I mean, uh," The blond stammered. "I always get hell for it. With Boru and Himawari, they don't trust me to go grocery shopping alone cause they know I'll just buy cup ramen." Rambling always proved to be a good enough distraction and he'd weaseled a real laugh out of Hinata, so he considered it a win.

"How _are_ Boru and Himawari?" She asked him.

"They're good," He responded. He couldn't help the involuntary smile that worked its way onto his lips, "I think they're gonna be happy here."

Her smile returned and there was a natural rosiness to her cheeks that Naruto hadn't noticed before, "I'm so glad that they've adjusted, I'd imagine that you were a big help."

He laughed easily. New Hinata talked more, he observed, and as much as he liked talking for himself, it was nice to have more than one sided conversations with her. "Boru would say otherwise, but I think I've made them feel at home."

"Tenten told me that Boru is a shinobi too."

The blond started, cringing slightly. It probably wouldn't have been all that good if she, the heiress of the Hyuga clan, knew that the secrets of her family's technique had been passed onto two non-Hyugas. They wouldn't be in trouble or anything, would they?

"Uh yeah, he is," Naruto responded carefully, adding for good measure, "He's pretty good too!"

Hinata didn't miss a beat, "Do you think he'll join a squad?"

Naruto let out a breath he'd been holding and sought comfort in the fact that his cousins were without double convictions.

"No, I asked him about joining Team 7 and he said it wasn't his thing. Really though, I think it's Kakashi-sensei's fault." His face twisted in annoyance, "He's been on Boru and Himawari's case since they got here, which is stupid. They're just kids, you know?"

"Kakashi-sensei is probably just being safe," she said thoughtfully. "I'm sure they'll be cleared in no time. "

"Yeah, I hope so." All he wanted was for things to go back to normal, well, the _new_ normal, and for Kakashi to stop watching over them 24/7. It was getting _very_ old.

"And," Hinata piped up. "Don't worry about Boru not wanting to join a squad. My sister turned 13 and she has no intentions of joining, but she's much more skilled than I was at her age."

He only ever really saw Hinata's sister in passing around the compound, but never much outside of that. "Oh yeah? How is Hanabi anyway?"

"My father keeps her busy, that's for sure," She laughed softly. "Hanabi trains a lot, even now. But she's happy, which is more than I could wish for her."

He couldn't help but marvel at how freely she spoke these days. Less in the stammered utterances that plagued their younger years and spoke her mind rather than leaving him to guess.

Back they were kids, she would have done anything she could to avoid him— he'd always made her nervous for some reason. Most likely due to him being a pretty loud and obnoxious kid compared to Hinata, the shyest person he knew. But save for that one little spell, today she'd been completely fine. He was sure she'd said more to him in two weeks than she had in an entire year.

Naruto may have been slightly less annoying than he was when he was 12, but Hinata had changed too. She'd grown up, and he couldn't help but smile at that.

Hinata wasn't kidding when she'd said that shopping was a hobby of hers. As soon as they'd gotten to the market, Hinata whipped out her list and made a beeline towards the stalls, swiftly making purchases. And even though he'd said he'd tag along to help, all Naruto did was hang back and watch as the Hyuga kindly chatted with merchants and stocked up on goods. In his defense though, Hinata seemed to have a one track mind when it came to shopping. There was such a systematic promptness to the way she made her rounds that Naruto thought it best not to interrupt her.

His friend had finished a particularly long conversation with a shopkeeper and his young son and acknowledged him for the first time since they'd arrived (it had been like he was see-through up to then; it was almost scary).

"I think that's why I like shopping in the village so much."

"Hm?"

She inhaled a deep cleansing breath and released it with a smile, "Getting a chance to connect with everyone. I never got that chance when I was younger so it's nice that I can get out and talk to people now."

That was something he'd never thought he'd hear Hinata Hyuga ever say. He supposed she really had grown up; the twelve year old Hinata would've stopped functioning if she had to talk to too many people for prolonged amounts of time.

But this was sixteen year old Hinata. And she wasn't as quiet as she had been. She wasn't as timid or reserved. She smiled all the time now and spoke in full sentences and he didn't have to lean in to hear her and… She was almost a completely different person. Naruto was glad that she'd gotten her voice while he was gone, but he felt a little distant from her and the friendship that they had.

They'd stopped, Hinata helping a young girl pick up her dropped basket of flowers. Naruto hung back, hands stuffed in his pockets as he watched his friend send the little girl off with a smile. She was practically glowing.

She caught his eye, and her smile dimmed, "W-What is it?"

"Ah" he rubbed his neck, the oddest sense of deja vu overcoming him. "It's nothing, really. You just look happy."

She blushed, mumbling something that sounded like a thanks and continued on her way.

Hinata finished up with the rest of her groceries at a frightening speed, despite her numerous conversations with almost every vendor. Albeit a bit flushed, she confirmed that she was all done, and that she was up for ramen if he was still offering.

They'd set off with Hinata carrying what was easily at least seventy pounds of groceries (he'd insisted that he carry something, and she'd thanked him, and promptly handed him some fresh jasmine).

The two made the trek back to his apartment and Naruto's dormant apprehension was starting to grow.

His apartment wasn't really in the vicinity of the Hyuga compound, but Hinata was still willing to help him. Of course she was, she was still a good friend to him even after all these years. But could he say the same?

In his head, Naruto compiled a list of things he knew about Hinata and it was abysmal in comparison to what she probably knew about him. Hinata was a great friend, and he didn't feel right asking something so serious of her when he didn't feel like he was a good friend to her. At least not yet.

He was busy thinking of an excuse when Hinata piped up over her load, "Isn't this your apartment?"

He looked back to see that she'd stopped in front of the stairs while he'd gone on several steps ahead.

Naruto easily laughed the whole thing off, coming back and saying he didn't know where his head was today. Hinata kindly smiled at his joking and waited to be invited inside.

He still felt guilty and knew he'd feel even guiltier taking advantage of her like that.

"Is this weird?" He sighed, a sad smile on his face. At her confusion he clarified, "I mean, this… is this awkward to you?"

For the first time, her gaze dropped to the ground her sunshine-y demeanor clouded over and her voice reverted back to its meak quiver, "Is it...awkward for you?"

It was then that he'd come to understand the real difference between Hinata then and Hinata now. Today, she'd been all unabashed smiles, her kindness was infectious, he'd witnessed it himself.

Seeing her like this unearthed who twelve year old Hinata used to be: _sad_.

"Hinata," he sighed. He discovered then that he hated seeing her like this, and he hated it even more that he had been the cause. "It isn't that. I just… well," He chuckled. "I went and promised you that I'd let you grow up and it looks like you've already done that…"

She stared back at him, eyes wide in confusion and _hurt_ and he wasn't trying to make this _worse_.

"Back then, with Pain, I realize I wasn't trying to protect you. It's the you that I remembered that I was trying to protect. But you're not her anymore, at least, you're different. And I'm glad!" He tried to smile to diffuse the situation, "Everyone's grown so much since I left, but no one more than you. But, it's still hard. I think no matter what, a little part of me is always going to see you that way and that isn't fair to you. That's really shitty of me to do. And I, well… I don't want you to feel like I'm holding you back. I want you to keep getting stronger."

Naruto felt a lot better once he'd gotten it all of his chest. He decided that he wanted to set Hinata free, so she'd feel no obligations to stick with him; he'd only hold her back.

However Hinata didn't look like she felt the same. Her fists were balled up at her sides and she searched his face for some sign that he was joking. When all she found was sincerity, her face scrunched up and all of a sudden she looked like she was going to cry.

"Hinata, wait—"

"No," she shook her head. "I won't let you say that to me." In her eyes she could see that she wasn't sad any longer. She was _angry_. "No matter what happens, I'll always be your friend, I can't even think of where my life would be without you."

It must have been a once in a lifetime sort of thing to see Hinata angry. He'd gotten the "pleasure" of seeing it twice now. The second time was no better than the first and he'd had a lot of people get mad at him in his day, but Hinata's was a different type of scary. There was something about the nicest person you knew getting upset with you _twice_ that was particularly unnerving.

Naruto gulped, hoping he didn't look too intimidated. Hinata held his gaze for a second longer before her all-seeing eyes found something else in his face. Her scowl fell, and a frown replaced it.

"Naruto, this isn't about me, is it?"

"What?" He'd gone and made a really profound speech, if he did say so himself. He'd established the facts: there was no guarantee that he wouldn't occasionally see her as she was three years ago. That wasn't good. Hinata was strong and talented. She shouldn't have to have a friend like him who couldn't acknowledge her worth.

"There's still something you're not telling me."

He put on his best grin, "It's really nothing. I just eh, wanted to see what you were up to today. It was fun! Really! But I'm sorry that I ruined it with uh, you know… this." He _did_ have fun. More fun than he thought he could've had watching someone else go shopping. He liked hanging out with Hinata but… it just… didn't work out...

He should have expected her to be immune to this trick by now. Hinata, still the same kind, perceptive person he'd known forever, looked up at him again, all the concern in the world in her eyes.

"Naruto," She interrupted his forged laughter.

Simultaneously, his chuckles fizzled into absolutely nothing, as he felt the seriousness radiating off her. She'd been on a streak today so why of all times he thought she'd be immune to his bullshit was beyond him. "If it's truly that personal, and you can't tell me I understand. I don't want to pressure you into feeling uncomfortable, but I don't think… I don't think this is about me. I know what happened hurt my feelings, but I know how much you respect me… I just want you to be able to talk to me..."

Those eyes of hers would be the end of him. They said it all: she would do anything in the world for him. He could feel his heart clench painfully.

"You're too nice, Hinata. You know that?" He feigned irritability, but ultimately, it fell flat. Her gaze wavered, as if being too nice was almost an insult, but she remained attentive, waiting for him to share, but also accepting if he wasn't.

Was this really about her?

This whole time he'd painted this narrative that he was a bad friend and unsupportive and while all that may have been a little true (he wasn't even sure he knew when her birthday was), that wasn't the real reason he'd sought her out, was it?

Deep down, he guessed he was afraid to tell her. It was Hinata who paved the way for him to be the hero, it was her sacrifice in the end that pushed him towards victory and though the memory was painful, the damage done was healing, slowly but surely.

Despite everything, he still wanted to be everyone's hero, even hers. Hinata deserved a beacon of hope and safety as much as anyone else and…

Looking at her now, his own words kinda hit him all at once: she wasn't a little kid anymore. She was capable of defending herself. She didn't need him to protect her.

And it was about time that he took a page out of Hinata's book and stopped being so selfish.

There were two kids in his apartment just a few floors up. His health was now a priority. He had a family to look after.

"Okay," He nodded. "Here goes…"

He saw Hinata steel herself for the worst and he shook his head, chucking, "Yeah. Way too nice." She momentarily flinched as he continued, "Ever since Pain," It was still a little painful to talk about with her, and he could sense the air around her shift ever so slightly. " My chakra hasn't been..._right_. I don't know how to explain it, and at first, it wasn't that bad, but now I can't even perform a lot of jutsu. I wanted your help." He bowed and heard Hinata startle. "I _need_ your help. I need to know what's going on."

When he straightened back out, he met Hinata's wide gaze, and he almost wished that he hadn't said anything at all.

Not three weeks ago, he could remember telling her that he was the hero, that he was supposed to protect everyone. And there he stood, asking her to help him because he could barely even muster enough chakra to summon a shadow clone.

But Hinata wasn't like that, a tiny voice in his head reminded him. Hinata was his friend, she wasn't petty or bitter.

Her eyes had grown soft and he found deep emotion lying within. Was it pity?

_No. Sympathy_, the rational part of him affirmed. She cared about her friends, she wasn't one to sneer at his hypocrisy even though he rightly deserved it.

She shook herself free of the gravity of the revelation, "Naruto…" And with just the sound of his name, he knew he'd made the right choice in confiding in Hinata. He didn't feel embarrassed or afraid, he felt safe.

There was a strange sliding sound coming from above them that interrupted what she was going to say next.

They both looked up as the sound dragged on and suddenly cut off entirely as a flower pot came falling down from the roof right towards them.

It was falling far too fast for anything to be done and it smashed onto the pavement. A small sprout stood up in the mound of dirt and terracotta shards.

Naruto and Hinata both blinked in confusion. A tiny gasp was heard from above and Naruto looked up to see a set of blue eyes peering down at them.

"Himawari?" At the sound of her name, the hooded figure popped her head out of sight.

Still unsure as to what she had been doing on the roof, he scratched his head, going to explain to Hinata when he saw her bent over, gathering up the tiny plant in her hands.

She picked a few of the orange shards out of the soil and glanced up at him, "I guess she must have dropped this."

He blinked, "Uh, yeah. I… we should go make sure she's alright."

Hinata carefully followed Naruto up the stairs and to his apartment on the top floor, cradling the plant in her hands. Opening the door, he was met by a petrified Himawari. Boru was still at the kitchen table and he looked between the two in confusion.

"You're back already?" He asked.

"I'm sorry!" Himawari shouted. All eyes snapped to her and she looked as if she was about to cry. "I d-didn't...I-I… It was an accident!"

"What are you talking about—"

Hinata slipped past Naruto and Boru fell uncharacteristically silent. The Hyuga bowed slightly, "I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm Hinata. It's nice to meet you again." Despite the fact that it was obvious Hinata wasn't upset in the slightest, Himawari still looked on edge.

When she didn't receive a reply, Hinata offered her the plant, "Here you go. It should be alright if you put it in another planter."

Himawari pensively took it, nodding. "Thank you," she said quietly. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Hinata assured her. "No one got hurt. Even your sprout is alright."

"Yeah…" Himawari shot a worried glance past Hinata and up at him. "You're not mad?"

"Of course I'm not mad," He did happen to let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding in; luckily it was only the pot that fell. He placed a hand on her head. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Her shoulders dropped and he felt the anxiety leave her body.

"Oh right. Boru, Hima, this is my friend, Hinata." The Hyuga bowed in tandem.

"N-Nice to meet you," Himawari responded weakly. She perked up, "Your bags! You left them outside! I-I'll go get them!"

"No you don't have to—"

Himawari forced the plant back into Hinata's hands and scampered outside. Hinata stood, looking worriedly down at her hands.

"Don't worry about her," Naruto told her. "She's just shy at first."

Hinata met his eye and nodded in understanding. "Do you have something for this?" She gestured towards her hands.

Naruto scratched his head, "I think we might have used all of them. I guess we can use a bowl though…"

He took the plant from her and she went to assist Himawari outside. Naruto began to rummage through the cabinets for bowls— something he was almost sure he had clean, though the sink was beginning to pile up... He caught a glimpse of Boru out of the corner of his eye.

He hadn't said much of anything and had been oddly interested in the same page of his book.

"Why are you being weird?"

Boru didn't so much as flinch, keeping his attention focused on the text, "I'm not. I'd say _you're_ being weird."

He shut the cabinet doors and turned to him, "What? _Me_?"

"What is she doing here?" The younger blond asked evenly.

"I'm only doing what you told me to." Naruto crossed his arms. "Hinata's my friend and I asked her to help."

"I said you should go see a _doctor_—"

"Look," he huffed. "For reasons you couldn't possibly understand, I can't go see a doctor. Hinata's staying for ramen—"

"It's 8 in the morning…"

"_Anyway_," He cut him off. "She might be able to help. I don't know yet, we'll see, but could you at least pretend to be decent?"

"What the hell do you mean, 'decent?'—"

Boru went back to flipping pages as Himawari and Hinata entered. They settled Hinata's groceries against the wall next to the door. The kunoichi thanked Himawari, and the young girl reciprocated, if not a little uneasily.

Hinata still tried to smile, even as Himawari avoided her gaze and shuffled from one foot to the other, looking like she'd rather be anywhere else.

So much for making this any easier…

Eight and a half tense minutes later and Naruto was anxiously thrumming his fingers underneath the table while Hinata finished off her ramen. She sat across from him, carefully gathering noodles on her chopsticks and slowly eating, quite the opposite of his performance. His antsiness had increased tenfold and he had dumped the entire cup in his mouth in thirty seconds flat with a startled Hinata staring at him and a more than disturbed Boru pretending not to notice.

The younger blond had decided that he'd sit on the counter rather than with them at the table, not wanting to "get in the way," and despite Naruto's request that the two of them make good impressions— or at least, a better second impression— Boru was still eyeing Hinata not so sneakily and Himawari had run off, saying that she'd left the rest of her plants in Naruto's room.

Naruto huffed, watching Boru and his observations. He'd go to read that same page in his book then flick his gaze up to Hinata, whose back was to him. He'd think that Boru of all people should've known the capabilities of the Hyuga. Even without a dojutsu, sensing someone watching them as vigilantly as the small blond was was a simple feat. Hinata was just polite enough to pretend she didn't notice.

All Naruto wanted was for his cousin to cut him this one little break, just this once and tried to capture his attention, clearing his throat and give him the best, "what the hell" look he could muster. And while Boru received the scathing glare of his cousin, Hinata ended up on its receiving end as well.

She lightly set her chopsticks down and folded her hands in her lap. She was quiet for a moment before taking a deep breath, meeting his eyes firmly, "Okay. I'm ready."

He almost choked. Maybe he wasn't expecting her to actually do it, which was perfectly fine considering he'd just shoved it all onto her. He probably should've seen a doctor… But he trusted Hinata though, and he wanted her to trust him.

"Ah...sure. Right, okay."

"O-Okay." She bit her lip, a deep flush returning to her cheeks, "D-Do you mind?"

Naruto was pretty fazed by the whole situation and almost didn't grasp the fact that Hinata was asking for _permission_ before she examined him. He nodded, guessing that protocol for seeing into a friend's body was kind of a grey area.

She blew out another breath and activated her Byakugan. Naruto knew that he'd have to do a little more than fidget to screw up the accuracy of her vision, but he held his breath, waiting for the results.

Instead, Hinata started, Byakugan deactivating almost seconds after she'd begun.

"I'm sorry," She winced, bringing her fingers to her temple. "Something interfered with my sight… "

And that gave him a pretty bad feeling. He swallowed then asked, "You've used your Byakugan around me before, right? Has this happened before?"

She shook her head and Naruto couldn't help but feel slightly relieved.

"No… Maybe it's overuse," she thought aloud. Shaking her head, she readied herself once more, "I'll try again." Naruto couldn't help the little twinge he felt in his chest. She always tried too hard…

"Hinata, don't waste your time on me," He let his eyes fall to the tabletop, "If this is hurting you, I don't—"

She shook her head. "I'll try again." She said, leaving no room for argument. Before she started, Boru closed his book, sliding off the counter and left the kitchen, most likely done with any snooping he thought he was doing.

Without further ado, Hinata's eyes increased focus. After a few moments, she seemed steady and said, "Okay. It's fine now."

He felt his heart rate pick up and couldn't help but notice this felt pretty similar to the doctor's appointment he'd actively tried to avoid.

Whenever a Hyuga activated their Byakugan, it was well known that they looked ten times more intimidating, albeit pretty cool in some scenarios, but not in the scenarios where they were staring right at you about to tell you if you were going to die or not; he was trying to make light of the situation, okay?

But he noticed something as the seconds passed. Her eyes were softer. Not quite her token calming gaze, but he felt a lot better in the familiarity of Hinata's eyes.

"Do you see anything?" He asked curiously.

She nodded, and he couldn't decide whether he was relieved or not. His friend continued to scan over his body as she spoke, "Your chakra is… different." She shook her head. "No, it's flow has been altered, It's like… Your chakra used to flow this way," she traced out the direction in the air with a finger, "But now it goes this way." She copied the gesture but in the opposite direction. "It's a bit strange and I don't think I've heard of something like that happening before, but that's…" There was a flash of worry in her eyes and Naruto braced himself for inevitable doom. "That's not all."

His mouth was too dry to speak, so he nodded, urging her to continue.

"I've become familiar with the way that most people's chakra is structured. It's a part of my training," She admitted with a touch of embarrassment. "I've seen the nine tails' chakra in many forms over the years. When we were younger it was much wilder, it pulsed throughout your body, far too erratically in moments of stress… and when you came back it was tame. All of its chakra was concentrated into one area in your core." His hand ghosted over his seal. She looked to be struggling with the sense of what she said next. "Now, I can hardly see it at all."

Naruto gaped, "What...what do you mean? The Nine Tails is still inside me. I know it is."

"It's still there." Hinata affirmed. "However, I can barely detect its chakra."

Naruto allowed himself to relax at that. "My dad resealed it, so I don't think it should have any influence on me anymore. But what does that have to do with why I can barely harness any of my own chakra?"

Hinata completely deactivated her Byakugan. Her eyes were wide and glassy and sad and crap that didn't bode well with him.

"The Nine Tails," She couldn't even bring herself to meet his eye. "Even with the seals he's always overlapped a fair portion of your own chakra throughout your pathways. I can't see those little bits of its chakra anymore, but I can't see _your_ chakra there either." She continued, her voice gradually losing itself, "It's small. Almost undetectable, but an interruption is an interruption and your chakra... is slowly draining itself."

He could sense that she had more to say and he held his tongue and waited for her to tell him he only had three days left.

"An anomaly like that is typically… " his friend tensed up. "Not good," (he supposed she'd settled on that sugar coated version rather than "fatal") "But in one moment, those areas are gaps but in the other they repair themselves and the flow continues, uninterrupted. You have such an immense reserve that it automatically repairs itself, though naturally there's a blow to your normal capacity, your body continuously sustains itself." Hinata paused. She'd talked more than a mouthful and tentatively waited for his response.

It wasn't what he was expecting to hear, but still just as strange as he could've guessed, there was no doubt about that, but he was going to live. "Thank goodness," he breathed out heavily.

Hinata faltered, echoing, "'Thank goodness?'"

"Yeah," he gave her a tired, but relieved smile, slumping down to lean on his hand, "I'm not dying or anything, right?"

"R-Right, but—"

"Thanks a lot Hinata. Really. This means a lot to me." So he wasn't in tip top shape but hey, at least he got to live. He'd get to stay with his friends and family a bit longer before he ended up doing something stupid. Dying in battle was much more favorable than a hospital anyway, he thought.

"It... wasn't a problem at all," she replied, still a little stunned at his newfound ease. "But Naruto—"

"Hey what time is it?" The sun spilled brightly through the kitchen window, "Don't you have a mission?"

And with that, she shot up lightning quick, whipping towards the clock on the wall, and scrambled to get her things.

"You're right!" She shoved her shoes on hastily and bowed, thanking him for his hospitality. "I'm sorry to have to leave so suddenly. I let time get away from me." Before he could even return the notion, she'd grabbed up her bags, struggled with the door for a bit, and made her grand exit.

With how quickly she was going, Naruto had half a mind to think that she'd fall down the stairs. He'd followed her outside, trailing behind her as she rushed downstairs.

"Hey Hinata," he called once she'd reached the bottom. Hinata turned, adjusting her hold on her groceries.

"Just...Thanks. For everything." He smiled.

She seemed wounded by his thanks, and bit her lip, "l'm glad I could help, but I'm not a doctor, maybe they could help."

Naruto shrugged, reaching the sidewalk, "I doubt there's much they could do, don't you think?"

"I guess you're right, but I'm not sure how stable your condition is," Hinata frowned. "I don't want you to completely rely on my observations… I'm nowhere near qualified—"

"Oh come on, Hinata," Naruto snorted. "No one, at least as far as I'm concerned, knows as much as you about this sort of thing." (He left out the part about his aversion to the doctor's and the small part of him wanting to keep his pride intact.)

"Still," she took a step towards him, and there she was, worrying again. Oh boy… what was he going to do about that. "I've never heard of anyone surviving something like this." Hinata grimaced at the implications but continued, "The anomalies in your flow weren't caused by a Hyuga, but I know the effects that something like this could have on you."

"But you said my body was healing itself, right?"

"Yes, but—"

"Then I'll be _fine_." He said laughingly. Sure it kinda sucked that half of his chakra was unusable, but he'd worked to get stronger once, he could do it again, at least he hoped. Though it didn't seem like it, he understood that his situation was serious, but Hinata had said it herself: she'd never seen anyone survive with this type of condition. The Hyuga were very meticulous about their technique and all its secrets so there was a pretty good chance that going to the doctor wouldn't do him any good in the end. So long as he wasn't dying, he could manage on his own for now.

Hinata was quite familiar with his stubbornness and knew that she'd said all she could. A look of defeat crossed her face and her shoulders dropped.

"Right." She nodded at the ground. "Please just… be careful."

"I will." Naruto assured her. He chuckled, "You can go home now, Hinata."

She flushed, nodding vigorously, "Yes, I'm sorry. You're right. Goodbye."

And with that she turned down the street, and Naruto watched her off. He was glad that Hinata cared so much. Naruto guessed that it still made them good friends.

But suddenly she stopped, only a few feet away.

He scratched his head. "Ah, Hinata?" He called: "What—"

Before he could even finish, she turned and ran back to him.

"I'm going to help you." She heaved. Her face was red and she sounded out of breath, though it really wasn't that far of a sprint.

"But you already—"

"No." She shook her head. "I-I'm going to help you. I said I'd help. I'm not going to stop until you're better. I…I've requested a heavier schedule for my assignments, so my off time is sporadic at best, and I know you've got your own missions, but," she shut her eyes tightly, "I won't let you go on like this. I swear we'll figure this out!"

And really, what were you supposed to say about that? She was giving up her life for him, _again_. Well… it wasn't exactly the same, but still.

"No. No way."

"Why _not_?" It was the second time he'd heard that sort of desperation in her voice. "I know what it looks like. I know that. But you're my friend. You have been for a long time and I…" She shook her head, saying, "I want to finally be able to help you. This is something that _I _can do. _Please_."

He couldn't tell her no, and if he did he was sure she was going to do it anyway. He'd felt like enough of a burden already.

"Besides," Her voice was lighter, she was even smiling now, and the gesture made him feel a little less guilty. "You're supposed to be our hero. I want to continue to see you grow."

He started. _Our hero,_ she had said. He was still her hero?

He groaned, "Hinata… you've done more than enough for me." Naruto rubbed his neck, "And I get what you're saying, I do, but I feel like you're not getting anything out of this." Her steely gaze hadn't wavered and Hinata looking anywhere close to angry had proven to be equally intimidating as it was kind of hilarious. He grinned, holding a finger up to her, "I'll tell you what. I'll only do it on one condition: you've gotta find something that I can help _you_ with."

"But I don't—"

"Ah ah," he warned, crossing his arms triumphantly. "You don't have a lot of time to spare and I won't let you help unless you let _me_ help."

Realizing that she'd been played, her face screwed up and she gave some semblance of a pout before finally relenting, "If that's what it takes…"

"See," he smirked. "That wasn't so hard!"

(He could have _sworn_ she'd rolled her eyes. What an non-Hinata thing to do.)

She nodded, adjusting her hold on her bags, "Alright. I'll… see you."

"Yeah." He smiled.

She turned and hurried down the lane once more before turning right back around and coming back.

_Geesh, what now? _He wondered as she ran up.

"Ah, here!" She shoved a brown box in his face. "Okay, I'm leaving now! Goodbye!"

And away she went— for good this time. Naruto opened up the box and saw three cinnamon rolls neatly stacked. He looked up in the direction she'd gone and smiled.

He guessed they were still friends.

./././.

In times such as these, Boruto found that the best coping mechanism was to list all the ways in which Naruto was very much unlike his father.

One, Naruto had a lot more hair and comparatively looked way less lame than his dad.

Two was… well… he didn't look nearly as old. Yeah, that was a good one...

The blond squinted outside the window to the street below where Naruto and Hinata stood. The Hyuga was juggling way more bags than she could probably carry and Naruto looked oblivious as usual.

Three. Manners seemed to be something completely and utterly devoid in his skill set.

His dad wasn't _this_ dense. Naruto's head seemed to be as thick as a rock even on the best of days.

_Four…_ Boruto watched as Hinata ran down the street and back again, shoving a box into Naruto's chest before bolting away.

He grimaced, moving away from the window. Despite the fact that Naruto and Hinata seemed as far from being… _involved_ as anyone, being exposed to their little displays of obviousness was still difficult to watch. He slid off the counter and took his seat back at the kitchen table with his book.

It was no surprise that a random book Naruto had forgotten to return to the academy wasn't too helpful on his fact finding quest, but at the moment it was better than nothing. Although, ever since Naruto's return with an impromptu guest, he couldn't do much focusing on _Proper Technique and Execution of Transformation_.

It wasn't like he was embarrassed or anything (only a little). He'd known that Naruto and Hinata had been good friends for years. However, becoming too close to one person who didn't know that they shared your genes was already a mess in and of itself, but getting too friendly with the other half of your entire being was a little too much.

And that really sucked considering he knew how she'd take it. Himawari had avoided her like the plague and hadn't been too discreet about it either. It wasn't fair but it was necessary.

And while he was on the subject of necessities that needed to be taken into consideration while in another timeline, he sure hadn't been as cautious as he'd originally believed.

Boruto had only stayed to watch Hinata give Naruto a diagnosis just because he was genuinely curious himself. What he didn't take into account was that that may have not been the best idea. When Hinata activated her Byakugan, the strangest sensation overcame Boruto and suddenly, Hinata was saying that something was interfering with her reading. Feeling too close to be coincidence, he'd slipped out of the kitchen as quickly as possible.

He couldn't explain why, but he just knew that the interference had to do with him. And if that was the case, could Naruto's condition be because of him, too?

Maybe staying here wasn't a good idea— well, it never had been, but at least they weren't sleeping in the forest, though it seemed like they were going to be returning to that alternative. He didn't like it, and he couldn't help but feel _sad_ about leaving. Who was he kidding? They'd only been around for two weeks. Everyone would eventually get over it, right?

Naruto returned, startling Boruto out of his thoughts. He hadn't even seemed to notice Boruto sitting there. He'd taken a deep breath then all seemed well.

"So," Boruto coughed. "Did you figure out what was wrong?"

Naruto pondered it for a moment before shrugging, "Yes? Maybe?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Naruto looked a lot less chipper than he was only moments ago downstairs. He sighed, "It means I don't know."

That was what Boruto had been expecting after all, but he refrained from showing any reaction.

"Well… it's probably fine." At least, it would be when he and Himawari left. No matter how big his ego would get… Naruto didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve to have his life as a shinobi tanked because Boruto had gotten used to his company. He was formulating an escape plan as they spoke.

"Yeah sure…" Naruto eyed him suspiciously and Boruto tensed. "While I'm thinking about it, what was the deal with you and Hinata?"

Himawari was walking into the kitchen right as Naruto cross examined him and she froze, looking like she'd bolt any minute.

"Nothing." Boruto lied easily.

"I'm not buying that." He rolled his eyes. Naruto looked between Himawari and Boruto, prompting them both for an answer.

Boruto crossed his arms and slumped down into his seat. He could do without being berated for "bad manners," especially given Naruto's own track record. "It's not like our last experience with a Hyuga was so great." He muttered.

Naruto blinked, the frustration dissipating instantly, "Oh… right," Of course this made sense to him. Naruto leaned his elbows on the table and rubbed his neck, "Yeah, sorry. Neji can be like that sometimes. He's alright though. He and Hinata are cousins, but Hinata's much nicer than him, trust me."

Boruto wasn't all that sure if Naruto and Neji were as friendly with one another as his father made them out to be. And Naruto sure did look like he wanted to punch him in the face last night.

"Now that that's settled, are you done nagging us now?" He would've liked that they changed topics as soon as possible.

"As a matter of fact, I'm _not_."

Boruto made a point to heave an insufferable sigh as Naruto pointedly continued on his tirade.

"I get that you two weren't comfortable around Hinata, that's fine, I guess. But what I don't get is why Himawari was on the roof in the first place!"

That was the piece that Boruto had been missing. Hinata had come in with what looked to be one of his sister's plants that Ino had given her. He hadn't been sure in all the ensuing chaos, but he guessed that's where Himawari had stormed off to after their little argument.

Judging by the way her arms were crossed and how she hadn't even looked at him, he guessed she was still mad.

Boruto turned back to Naruto and shrugged, "I don't know. What's the problem?"

"'What's the problem?'" He gaped. "She could've gotten hurt!"

He fixed Naruto with a sideways glance, "I mean, I doubt it. She's ten, she can control her chakra."

Naruto blinked, at a loss for words. "Uh...okay..."

"Besides, why are you getting onto _us_?" It was almost laughable how easy it was to turn the tables on their arguments. "We stayed here like we were _supposed_ to. Weren't _you_ supposed to be getting a job?"

"Ah…" He chuckled sheepishly and Boruto knew he'd won, and they'd gotten away with it. "Why don't we go do something, yeah? Boru, you still want to go to the library? Let's do that…"

On a normal day, Boruto would have happily pointed out the fact that Naruto was in the wrong here, but he was more than happy to drop the subject of Hinata and the Hyugas in general.

He stopped himself short.

_On a normal day?_

None of this was normal, so when on earth had that been such an easy thought?

"_You're getting too comfortable, Himawari…"_

_She'd been staring at the door, moments after Naruto had left. His sister spun on her heel to face him, "What does that mean?"_

_He bit into his apple, grimacing when he'd found it bruised and mushy on the inside. "It means that we're leaving soon so there's no point in getting so attached."_

_It was obvious that she was getting annoyed. Himawari had marched to the sink, depositing the watering can on the counter. _

"_You say that, but we're still here. There's nothing wrong with being _nice_."_

_Himawari was a smart kid, so he couldn't understand why she was being so stubborn about this. _

"_You're not being nice," he'd snapped, tossing his apple in the trash. "You're being stupid. When we leave this place, how do you think he'll feel? He'll be crushed because you were being stupid and made him hold onto something that wasn't his to begin with."_

_His reasoning made sense and Himawari knew it. He could see her spluttering for an excuse, for something to say that would justify her newfound friendship with Naruto, but she couldn't. _

"_You're mean, Boruto." Her lip was trembling and her face was set in a hard scowl. "You're really mean and all you wanna do is be mad at him all the time. You hurt his feelings."_

_He calmly closed his book. Sure. Himawari was right. He was a jerk but at least that was kind of justifiable. Kind of._

"_Maybe I do, but in the end it's you who's being selfish. Who do you think will hurt his feelings more when we leave? Me or you?"_

_He saw the exact moment that realization dawned on her, but he knew it'd take a lot more than that to deter her. She'd grabbed up a few of her pots and stormed out of the kitchen._

Even _he_ was getting too comfortable. He stared at the cover of Naruto's book. When he took them to the library, they'd be that much closer to getting home.

Maybe they could even leave tonight. He wouldn't _have_ to say anything to Naruto. They could just leave and maybe they could stage it so that he'd imagined them being there to begin with.

It wasn't really a good idea, when he actually considered it but… it wasn't like they had too many options. He'd be upset, sure, but he should've known that this wasn't meant to last.

Boruto wondered how he was going to tell Himawari…

…

"Hey, hang on Boru, Himawari wanted to stop by this shop really quick, if you wanted to come."

Naruto at least had the decency to look partly apologetic, but he looked almost as interested in the stinted up weaponry in the display as Himawari did. It was a little out of character for his sister, but she seemed to be interested in something new all the time these days.

Boruto shrugged, "You guys go ahead, I'll be around."

"Don't get into any trouble!" He shouted after him as he was tugged along.

Boruto headed off in the opposite direction, and as fun as authoritative defiance was, he found himself just milling around the block, apparently, waiting on his escorts.

Ten minutes later and still nothing. He wondered what was so interesting in the decorative pieces that it warranted this long of a delay. It was his turn to choose, after all. Not that that bothered him or anything.

His eyes lazily happened upon a tiny stall, a little ways down the road. The sign jutting out from the top revealed that it was some sort of homemade trade and curiosity pulled him towards it.

Upon closer look, Boruto could see all sorts of masks hanging from the top of the stall to the bottom, all uniquely crafted.

Back home, he'd seen all sorts of stores with their plastic masks in the display case that were far away from looking like the real thing. Maybe he'd get a souvenir to bring back.

Boruto went up to the doors of the stall, finding it empty inside. When the owner got back, he'd be sure to ask about the prices because these masks were actually really cool.

And as if his thoughts summoned him, an older looking man rounded the corner of the booth, wiping sweat from his greying brows and mumbling something incoherent to himself.

"Oh hey," Boruto spoke up.

The man startled, nearly jumping out of his skin when he saw Boruto standing inside.

He picked up one of the plainer white masks, "I was wondering how much these were. They're pretty cool and I—"

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?"

Boruto blinked. The man's grizzled face was suddenly angry and he snatched the mask out of Boruto's hands, quickly inspecting it for damage. He probably should've asked before he just picked one up, Boruto realized. He went to apologize but the man growled over him, "I don't know how many times I have to tell you to get the hell away from my store. I don't need a brat like you hanging around, stealing any of my merchandise."

"Wait, huh?—"

"Admit it," he spat. "You were trying to steal from me! Think after all these years I wouldn't remember you now, would I?" He jutted a thumb into his chest, "You're no savior of mine, I know who you really are, you little punk."

The masks suddenly didn't hold the same appeal anymore. This guy was old and looked to be having a bad day so it looked like he wouldn't be getting his souvenir after all. "I don't know what you're talking about, old man." Boruto informed him. "You've obviously got me confused—"

His voice gradually rose, "I won't tell you again kid, get the hell out or I'll have you arrested for stealing!"

"Stealing?!" Boruto spluttered. The man was standing right there, in the _way_, he might add. What could he have possibly stolen? "I didn't even—"

The man was insatiable. He kept howling on and on about how he was being robbed, really causing a huge scene. More than he was embarrassed, Boruto was more than a little wary about this man, who was clearly off his rocker.

Though Boruto was a trained shinobi, and the owner was an out of shape man in his late sixties or so, the way he refused ceasefire, and bore down on Boruto with every bark, certainly had him stunned.

"Look, I'll leave okay?" Boruto placated when he'd taken a break.

The mask maker's body blocked almost the entire entrance, but Boruto made his way to slip past him.

"What do you think I am, stupid?" He moved in front of the gap. "Give back what you stole, now, kid. I won't ask again!"

"I didn't steal anything!"

His face went red then and he snatched Boruto up by the collar and tossed him out onto the street. The whole thing caught him so off guard he didn't even bother to move from his spot.

Really, Boruto shouldn't have been as intimidated as he was, but as he sat in the dirt of the road, the man still screaming his head off, he could feel his mouth go dry. His hands were even starting to shake. What the hell was this guy's problem?

Not many people were around but the few who were just looked on, whispering amongst themselves and Boruto was at a complete loss. They were all just _standing there_.

"Hey, now."

A hand came down to rest firmly on Boruto's shoulder. He'd flinched, being so engulfed in the man's tirade that he hadn't even noticed anyone behind him. "What seems to be the problem here?"

The man was left huffing, visibly calming down at the presence of a shinobi.

"Quite a scene you've caused," Kakashi whistled, observing the horrified onlookers.

The man wiped at his brow again and sighed in relief, as if Kakashi was the voice of reason he was looking for. "Well you, see, I found this kid loitering around my shop. I caught him though, before he could steal anything else," he sounded a little too proud at that part.

"Uh huh…" Kakashi sounded far from impressed and Boruto felt relieved by the familiarity of it, even if it was just Kakashi. The jonin stood, shooting Boruto a lazy glance and asking, "Are you alright?"

It was only an ounce of concern, but Boruto could count on one hand the amount of times that Kakashi had ever displayed the emotion with him.

His bandaged hand was sore from catching himself, but he nodded dumbly, and Kakashi turned back to the shopkeeper, "You say he was loitering?"

He'd perked up, "Why, yes he was." He shot Boruto a burning glare. "Little devil."

Kakashi's eyes had narrowed only momentarily before shifting back to nonchalance. "Right… Correct me if I'm wrong, but loitering seems to be the whole point of your store, doesn't it?" The man paled as Kakashi shrugged. "If no one loiters, then you're not going to make much money."

The man gaped, spluttering, "W-Well I guess you have a point b-but the brat was stealing too!" His self-righteousness had returned with a vengeance as he pointed animatedly at Boruto.

The silver haired shinobi glanced down at Boruto, "Did you steal anything?"

Boruto found it in him to shake his head.

He addressed the small crowd that had been gathering. "Did he steal anything?"

They all rapidly shook their heads and Kakashi turned back to the shopkeeper, "Looks like that's all cleared up," The jonin grabbed Boruto's arm and hoisted him to his feet. He gave Boruto a sturdy squeeze on his shoulders, and addressed the man once more. "Now if it's no problem with you, I think I'll take it from here."

The owner stared for a moment, unsure if he'd won or lost. "Uh, yes, thank you."

With that, Kakashi guided Boruto off, hands firmly in place.

"I wouldn't worry about him too much," Kakashi advised. "I doubt it was anything personal against you."

Boruto grimaced, rubbing his sore arm. There'd been so much pent up rage inside the man that it was almost tangible. No, it hadn't been directed at him, that much was obvious.

Kakashi led them back the way he'd come and they'd run right into Himawari and Naruto.

"Ah, good, we found you."

"Uh, hey Kakashi." Naruto met Boruto's eye with a deadpan expression, "What'd you do?"

Boruto couldn't find it in him to retort, letting his eyes trail across the ground.

And having expected said smart retort, Naruto's demeanor completely changed. "Hey, what's the matter—"

"I'll let him explain if he wants to later, but that's not what I'm here to talk about." Kakashi released his hold on Boruto and playfully tousled his hair. Though coming from Kakashi it was ominously disconcerting. However, meeting his eye he could tell that it was Kakashi's attempt at comfort so he let it go.

"Naruto," He addressed his former student. "You've got an assignment."

"Me?" He started. "Really?"

Kakashi nodded and relayed the details of the mission while Boruto watched his sister visibly deflate. Sooner or later she'd learn that the fun had to end.

However, Boruto couldn't help but feel that Kakashi didn't come all this way just to tell Naruto he'd gotten a mission.

"And oh yeah…" (There it was.) Boruto suspected he was smiling that same old Kakashi smile, "Well the investigation is over, we've seen all we've needed to see."

Naruto seemed to be overwhelmed by all the good news, but even Himawari was looking a bit suspicious. "Oh, _finally_. That's great!" He grinned at them. "Maybe we can stay out of trouble long enough for Kakashi to really get off our backs."

"Sure," Kakashi rolled an eye. "You'd better hurry up and get down to the Hokage Tower, they're waiting on you."

"Right," He made off to leave and Boruto thought he could hear Himawari's heart breaking. Naruto had stopped just short though, of bounding away. He knelt down and rested a hand on both their heads, giving them both a toothy grin.

"I'm sorry, Boru. Next time, I promise."

Boruto felt the bile rising in his throat and his hands clenched at his sides. Himawari drew closer to him, decidedly still upset, but she was in danger of breaking down right there if he wasn't close to anchor her down.

"I'll be back real soon, Himawari."

His sister put on that same smile he'd seen her wear a million times before, nodding, "Yep!"

Kakashi sighed, "Naruto, I can't stress it enough, you've got to get going. We've got somewhere to be too."

"Uh...what? Where"

"The investigation is complete, but we've got follow up questions for them too." Kakashi waved flippantly. "Debrief, you know how it is."

He looked nervously between the two, "I mean I guess, but...well…"

Kakashi rolled his eyes, "They're not going to the slaughter house, so you can calm down."

Naruto looked like a kid left out of a game of hide and seek. "Right..."

"Well we don't want to be late. Let's go, you two."

Himawari looked up at Naruto, debating on whether to obey or not. She obviously didn't have a choice, but she gave Naruto's waist a squeeze and slid in next to Boruto.

"Bye guys…" Naruto called hesitantly after them as Kakashi led them along. Himawari had weakly latched onto his arm, signaling her concession.

Kakashi walked them away from Naruto and once he was sure he was out of earshot, Boruto asked, "Where are we _really_ going?"

"Nothing gets past you, does it?" Kakashi blew out. "Be patient, you'll see before long."

That didn't do all too much to prevent Boruto from feeling increasingly uneasy about this whole situation.

Kakashi led down several twists and between alleys, all the while keeping a hand attached to either shoulder. Boruto factored in the possibility that Kakashi was actually going to kill them. He'd take them to a secluded spot and it'd be child's play for him. However, against his better judgement, he decided to trust Kakashi.

Boruto thought he was even more of an ass now than back home, but he could tell that at least somewhere he _kinda_ cared.

He really hoped his hunch was as accurate as Kakashi's.

By the time they reached their "destination," Boruto was so turned around that he couldn't even tell where they ended up. In fact, he'd never seen this part of the village.

Some of the buildings here were much older and looked to have been abandoned for some time. The others though, were completely decimated. Whole warehouses were nothing but giant piles of rubble. Not a single soul could be found wandering these ruins. Despite still being mad at him, Himawari pressed close to her brother's side.

Kakashi pushed them forward and led them around the perimeter of what used to be a large building. He'd stopped them short at two cellar doors that Boruto would've missed all together had Kakashi not bent down to unlock it.

Once the creaking metal doors opened, their escort did the honor of descending the dimly lit staircase first.

"Sometime today, you two," He called over his shoulder.

Boruto gulped, nudging he and Himawari along down the stairs.

"Close the door behind you, if you don't mind."

This whole ordeal was being drawn out a lot longer than Boruto would've liked and he had the slight feeling that Kakashi was actively trying to psych them out.

The light only got dimmer when Boruto closed the door. There wasn't so much as a trace of sunlight through the cracks. A sickly yellow light guided them down the flight and to a door.

Kakashi unlocked this one too and what laid behind it was an even darker hall.

Boruto could feel Himawari digging her heels in and he almost did the same. Turning around though, the door was nowhere in sight, just solid wall. Boruto gave his sister a reassuring squeeze and followed Kakashi down the never ending hall.

Pipes dripped old water onto the ground, and the lights flickered between life and death. Boruto wasn't claustrophobic or anything, but he was sure he'd come out of this with some real issues about small spaces. They walked in silence straight down the tunnel for what seemed like forever until Kakashi took a sharp turn to the right.

Boruto blinked. There hasn't been a side hall just a few moments ago, just one single tunnel that didn't seem to have an end. In this side hall— that was somehow even more cramped than the last one— there was a door.

The blond wasn't sure how many more halls and doors he could take. But this time after Kakashi unlocked the seal, he stepped aside, allowing them entry first.

Sensing their hesitation, Kakashi leaned over them and swung the door open. There wasn't another hall inside, rather, a room bathed in fluorescents so harsh compared to the tunnel that he'd had to blink so his eyes could adjust properly.

A desk sat not too far off and at it, a man sat with his back towards him, legs hitched up to his chest as he hunched over his work.

At the sound of the door opening, he turned in his chair, spectacles gleaming in the harsh lighting as he pushed them up on his face.

"Ah, if it isn't the guests of honor," A knowledgeable smirk had settled onto his features, "A little far from home aren't we?"

…

**you made it to the end! congratulations! 18k! consider this my way of making up for taking a month to update lol.**

**i will try to douse the word count in upcoming updates but uhhh no promises!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Mmm so no excuse this time, i could blame the pandemic and work and mental exhaustion but i guess you guys just wanna read the update soooo enjoy!**

…

The underground room was disturbingly cluttered. Filing cabinets looked ready to burst, scrolls laid unfurled across the floor, the pungent odor of ink and something else hung in the air. And so, given the general sweep of the area, Boruto should have felt a little less threatened knowing that the man smiling before them was a complete slob, but alas, it did no such wonder.

Okay, admittedly, Boru was still a little shaken by his run in with the cranky lunatic— seriously, who just went around yelling at kids like that?— but Kakashi taking them through some underground passageway, where a creepy, four-eyed hermit lived was not doing anything to reassure him.

Especially when said hermit glanced down at the two of them with the eyes of someone who could see straight through to their cores, methodically sifting through any and every deed they'd ever done in life. The man wore a smile, and it looked far too sincere to be a good sign.

Boruto involuntarily eased back a step, but Kakashi remained unmoving behind them. He issued a glare towards the permanently unbothered jonin and drew Himawari close. His sister looked to be on the verge of shooting off a million questions but after sharing a glance with him, she set her mouth in a thin line, turning back to stare straight ahead— Boruto was only so lucky that she remained calm, she sure had every right to be freaking out right about now.

Nudging them forward, Kakashi closed the door behind them and Boruto repressed a shudder at how heavily it sounded. The lights gave off a sickly flicker from above, making the man sitting across the room look like a killer in a horror movie rather than an investigator, or so Kakashi claimed he was. And well, the whole situation just screamed "_final resting place_."

It was as Boruto nervously clenched his hands that he remembered the newly acquired scrapes on his already not-so-healed hand. The bandages had come loose and he could only bring himself to glance at it for a moment. Kakashi had defended him back there and Boruto cursed himself for that little inkling of trust that had wormed its way in. That was clearly a mistake now.

For several suspenseful moments, Boruto really believed that Kakashi, the shinobi he'd known his entire life, truly _had_ led them to the slaughter house. Boruto had been exposed to far too many movies, comics, video games, to take this "meeting" too lightly and when he really considered it, mad scientists on the prowl for human test subjects to concoct all sorts of their unorthodox experiments on wasn't so farfetched in these days.

While Boruto himself knew Orochimaru as his best friend's parent, he was aware that back in the day— right _now_— he'd been one of the most dangerous shinobi in the country. Was it possible that more than one Orochimaru existed? And that Kakashi worked in lieu with them?

Boruto took in a calming breath. Now wasn't the time to wildly speculate. The possibility of that happening was probably low. Kakashi was a loyal shinobi and there was no way someone performing such experimentation would be allowed to reside in Konoha without punishment, right?

Breaking eye contact, the man in the lab coat suddenly stood, gathering his papers and stacking them against his desk. Kakashi, it seemed, had long since shut the door behind them. Their "investigator" was sure taking his sweet time, Boruto thought warily. His eyes flicked back to the only exit while they stood stiffly waiting. Though it looked like any regular door, Boruto knew for a fact that it wouldn't be so easy opening it if they decided to make a run for it. Finding their way out of the genjutsu was a whole other story. Waiting, Boruto resolved solemnly, was most likely going to be their safest bet.

"Well don't just stand there," the man turned to them— oddly giddy. "Come in, come in."

Their soon to be executor crossed the room and stood smilingly over them.

The first thing Boruto noted about this guy was his smile was even more disconcerting up close. Well, Boruto eyed him, "disconcerting" in the fact that his grin rivaled even Naruto's— renowned for its thousand kilowatt glow. And to his frustration, Boruto couldn't fight the sense of ease that threatened to take over. He had no choice but to reanalyze the situation.

He couldn't see any test tubes or vats of glowing green substance, but he didn't dismiss the possibility entirely. Though he couldn't sense any malice, he wasn't completely sold on the fact that everyone in the past had such a cheery disposition.

As the man blinked at them curiously, his bright smile eventually fell as he took in the tension emitting from the two siblings.

Boruto grabbed his sister's arm as the man bent down to examine them, hands on his knees. Once again, Boruto's eyes cut back to the door, though their chance of escape was extremely low, he'd be damned if he wasn't going to _try_ if things really went left.

Peering at Boruto's grip on his sister's wrist, the man cocked his head curiously. He knelt down now, coming right to their level. Before, Boruto couldn't really make out too much detail of the man's face because yes, as much as he hated to admit it, he was a lot taller than he was. But there was something in his eye that Boruto thought he saw, but he'd gone and adjusted his glasses, the glint preventing him from getting more than a glance.

"Kakashi," The investigator turned toward the jonin with what Boruto suspected was a slight pout. "What's up with them? They look like I'm gonna kill them or something."

To Boruto's initial surprise, the young investigator's voice was light and humorous despite his quite haggard appearance. And upon his _own _inspection, Boruto found that he was rail thin, the bulk of his _jonin _vest seemed to be contributing to a majority of his admittedly small form. This guy was a shinobi? A slight _breeze _would knock him down.

While Borutoloosened his grip ever so slightly, he kept Himawari close at hand because, as he was coming to learn more often these days, appearances could be deceiving.

Their escort shrugged at the question, moving from behind the two, (leaving the door unguarded, Boruto noted) "Your guess is as good as mine. I told them exactly what we were doing."

Boruto shot a sharp glare at Kakashi. He was sorely mistaken in thinking that Boruto was completely naïve; there was more to this whole thing than what it seemed, there had to be.

The man in the lab coat watched in smiling fascination, following Boruto's glare and grinning eagerly, "Oh I see... You didn't tell them everything, did you?"

Boruto started, eyes darting to their investigator/possible mad scientist. There was that glint again that he'd only caught for a fraction of a second, but Boruto couldn't help but feel that he'd _seen _it somewhere before.

Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest, "Those _were_ my orders." Boruto quirked an eyebrow up at the hint of irritation he'd sensed in the jonin's tone.

If the man noticed, he didn't pay any mind, his grin only expanding the longer he looked down at the siblings.

"I bet a million questions are going through your head right now, aren't they?" Boruto had grown increasingly uneasy as the seconds ticked by with this guy— he wasn't so convinced of the whole nice guy act; Boruto hadn't even spoken yet but he'd had every doubt, every thought that had crossed his mind upon entering listed out like it had been written on his forehead.

"Are you going to tell us what we're doing here?" Boruto finally asked, careful not to let his voice waver— it wasn't like he was _nervous_ or anything, no he was just… uncertain_._

And the investigator scientist guy looked absolutely delighted by this question, leaning _all the way _into Boruto's personal space so quickly that he had to take a step back.

"So he speaks!" The young shinobi grinned, examining them with a certain glee in his green eyes.

"W-What are you doing?" Shrinking away from the overly excited shinobi, Boruto was now sure he'd seen that mirthful expression before.

The investigator nodded excitedly to himself, completely ignoring Boruto's question. Then he removed his glasses nestling them in his ratty blonde hair. "Kakashi, is it alright if I try something? Just for confirmation of a few of my suspicions?"

The jonin shrugged disinterestedly, only paying them a lazy side glance.

And the warning sirens were blaring in his head again. His mouth went dry as the man's smile grew. Was he going to use them for experiments after all?

Boruto's eyes flew over to Kakashi who stared back, an unreadable look in his eye.

"H-Hey, what are you going to do?" He backed away every so slowly, Himawari sticking close to his side.

He received no answer. It was then that Boruto put the pieces together. Without the gleam of the fluorescents reflecting themselves in his glasses, Boruto could clearly make out the milky green tinge of his irises, and as the man angled his fingers, the space between them aimed straight at Boruto, it hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Now, if you could, stand very still please," He felt the foreign push of the jutsu against his mind before he could make any move to avoid it, and braced against the telltale warp against his consciousness.

Himawari had broken her silent streak, yelping in horror as she watched him suddenly stagger.

"What's wrong?" She had wrapped her arms firmly around his to support him as he lost his footing. His sister looked between him and the two shinobi before them frantically, visibly unsure of what to do.

Boruto, however, was still waiting. He'd felt the initial shock of a mind transfer, but that rush of accompanying numbness never came. There was only a slight pressure in his head and he was able to move his fingers to rest against his temple.

When he recovered from the sharp sensation of disorientation, he slowly looked up at the smiling man before him.

"Just what I thought," the shinobi once again nodded to himself. And for the first time, it seemed, since they arrived, the man addressed them, "Alright, guys, I've seen all I needed to see."

Boruto struggled to stand, pissed that they hadn't been told _anything_, he could barely move his legs, yet here he was supposed to trust these people? "And what exactly was _that_?" He was out of breath— another side effect of what he was _sure _was supposed to be a mind transfer— so his tone had a lot less bite than he would've liked. There was a buzzing in his head that was taking its time to recede.

Himawari squeezed his arm. "You're shaking," she whispered worriedly.

The man in the lab coat kneeled down once more and grabbed Boruto's wrist despite his, frankly, weak protests.

"I'm just checking your pulse," The man told him, mouthing the seconds that ticked by.

Boruto was too dazed to do anything but relent.

A sufficient amount of time elapsed and his arm was released. "You should be okay in a second. Though I should apologize for catching you off guard like that."

Boruto's eye gave a slight twitch in sheer annoyance, feeling his senses coming back.

"You're getting impatient, I can see." The man laughed sheepishly while Boruto and Himawari watched with equal amounts of unease. Rather than following that statement with any sort of explanation, he peered at the both of them, with that same _see through_ look that meant they weren't going to get any questions answered for the time being.

The man tipped his glasses back onto his face, taking no mind to the disheveled state of his hair, and Boruto now understood the odd sense of contrast he felt at watching the act.

He continued to stare at them though and stroked his chin, offering a smile though Himawari cast her own distrustful eye at him. Despite Boruto's tiny surge of pride that his sister was abandoning the _be nice _route for the time being, the shinobi chuckled at the glower, taking it upon himself to kneel in front of her, eyes glimmering with a manic curiosity.

"The little one must look like her mother. Very clever in hiding it."

He'd seemed to take delight in watching the color drain from their faces. To Boruto he added cheekily, "You, on the other hand, were a dead give away!"

In hindsight, Boruto was glad that Himawari was still trying to hold him up as he felt his knees give a little. This couldn't have meant anything special. It was just a comment that he happened to share Namikaze traits, Boruto reasoned against his better judgement.

Himawari looked mildly startled but she knew what role she had to play. It was a brief lapse in her own resolve, but she'd turned her face away, hoping to hide her expression by working to support Boruto's added weight. She kept her eyes down, though he saw that token look of Himawari Frustration about her like she'd gotten caught in a game she'd really wanted to win, one she _needed _to win. But only Boruto could see his sister's clouded reaction. He wished he'd been less obvious about _his_— he blamed the earlier stunt for his lack of tact.

The scientist frowned at Boruto's stricken look, something like concern ghosting his features. "Are you feeling alright?"

Boruto gazed at the man before him, stunned into silence. What did he mean _was he okay_? Of course he wasn't! But how did he… No, it was impossible. They'd been _extremely_ careful— well, as careful _as possible_. And well…

_And well you weren't careful _enough. A voice finished in the back of his head.

Inklings of defeat crept its way into Boruto's gut as he blankly stared down at the cracks in the tiled floor. It was soon replaced, however, with almost fear. And his mind kept saying over and over again, _deny, deny, deny..._

He opened his mouth, prepared to feign innocence, however futile it may have been, but he was a little late to the punch.

"There's no use in lying about it," The man told him simply. "I know who you are."

Despite his friendly countenance, Boruto felt cornered in the presence of the man in the lab coat. Those eyes, inescapable and all knowing, held him in place, paralyzing him.

Boruto started, "How did you—"

The man propped his head against his fist, a self satisfied smirk sliding onto his features, "Facial cues, for one, my friend. You're very easy to read."

His smiling face now annoyed Boruto. It was now _too _similar to Naruto's and even his own father's glowing grins.

They hadn't gotten a straight answer since they'd arrived and now, dangerous questions hung in the air waiting to be spoken into existence. And though Boruto knew that this man wasn't lying, he just couldn't let it be true. He couldn't really know the truth.

If he did, what happened next? What happened to _them_?

Boruto shook Himawari free, his fists clenched at his sides as he kept his temper level, "You said you know who we are. What does that matter?"

"Oh. Right," Inosuke dropped a hand inside his pocket. "Let's just say, I know you aren't who you've been saying you are," And out rolled the contents of his father's scroll. "Most people don't come to the village via scroll."

"You…" Boruto gaped (though he shouldn't have been too surprised). "How did you get that?"

"Well…" The man trailed, rolling the parchment back up. "I certainly had some help."

Immediately Boruto's gaze snapped to Kakashi, who'd been standing silently. His eyes narrowed at the jonin before going back to the disaster at hand.

"It's a little worse for wear," He was saying, "But I've got the gist of… well, your predicament, and I know you need this to get back home. Is that enough evidence for you?"

All Boruto could do was blink, taking in the fact that despite his best efforts to do this on his own and leave any unwanted parties uninvolved, he'd failed. And failure wasn't something Boruto ever took well.

"So," Boruto met the man's eye, any trace of frustration he felt was almost completely absent, replaced by cold acceptance. "What now? What are you gonna do with it? With us?"

The investigator stood, lab coat whirling in their faces as he returned to his desk. "This one's so serious," He said to Kakashi in passing. "He hasn't trusted us from the start."

"Well he'd be surprised if he showed a little faith for once." Kakashi intoned, shooting him a glance. _Faith_, Boruto rolled his eyes.

Their investigator returned after locking the scroll away in his desk. He put his hands on his hips, smiles returned. "Thank you for being so patient. Now that I've seen everything I've needed to see, I can tell you everything. Starting from the beginning. But first, I must introduce myself," He stuck out a hand to neither in particular, "Inosuke Yamanaka, a pleasure to finally meet you."

…

Inosuke, they found out, wasn't actually a mad scientist— even though he truly looked the part.

He was Chief of Intel and Research, or as he so happily supplied, the _first_ to be called on by the Hokage when a case needed untangling. Most importantly though, he was in charge of _their_ case.

Boruto and Himawari had been placed at the table in the corner of the room—which, frankly, blended in with the rest of the clutter. Inosuke zipped around the space, retrieving files from cabinets, unfurling crumpled bits of paper before planting himself across from them at the short table, a hefty stack accumulated.

His sister remained just as silent as they waited from their spots at the table. In general, she was a quiet kid, but the disappointment she was feeling was practically palpable. The air around her had grown solemn and she hadn't bothered to reach for him.

He and Himawari were about as close as any siblings could be and for as long as he could remember, Boruto took his role as her older brother very seriously. He was supposed to protect her, to make sure that her smile never wavered.

He'd been failing her a lot lately.

Boruto could only sigh, staring down at the cup of warm liquid in front of him, watching tea leaves drift about the surface. ("Drink." Inosuke had set the tea down in front of him before flitting off to retrieve more junk. "It'll calm your nerves.")

With a resounding thump, a mound of book, scrolls, papers, all the like, came down onto the table.

"You know, I've got to be honest," Inosuke flopped down opposite to them. "I figured you two would be a bit more… I don't know, relieved about all this?"

Boruto shrugged, eyes glued on the little droplets of tea that had splattered on the tabletop, "I guess I haven't decided if I am."

At this, Inosuke looked up from his disorderly pile of texts and chuckled, "Oh really? I like that answer."

The shinobi continued on sifting through his things, mumbling something along the lines of "now where did I put those reports…"

Boruto regarded him with cautious curiosity. Inosuke was strange to say the least. And a bit immature too, at least for a high ranking investigator.

But, considerig Konoha's renowned Torture and Interrogation Force, Boruto was admitedly... _grateful _to be turned over to Chief of Intel instead of the much scarier alternative.

"Well I _did_ promise you two answers," Inosuke said, hands steepled in front of him. "So I'll start from the beginning, though there's not much to it."

"Let's see…" He leaned on the heel of his hand, examining the molding ceiling above. "Right. It was approximately five weeks ago and I just so happened to be closing up a case with Kakashi here and he'd obviously had something on his mind that entire day. So naturally, I asked about it. He mentioned a weird feeling he'd been having, something about his eye bothering him? I don't know. But he asked me to keep and look out. If I'm being honest though, I had no intentions of looking into it, a 'feeling' wasn't all that interesting to me so I forgot about it for a couple days." He'd shrugged easily at the memory of dismissing Kakashi's claims, and Boruto was torn between being impressed that someone appeared virtually immune to Kakashi's "charm" or wary that Inosuke only seemed to engage in things that were of interest, or possibly, benefit to himself.

"Then one day, I'd received a few reports of a wide scale disturbance from a member of my staff. It was brief, but they'd recorded a steady flow of these… let's say, spatial disturbances." Inosuke chuckled, "Kakashi and his hunches never cease to amaze me."

Boruto shot a glance at the shinobi in question who hadn't so much as looked up from his novel.

Inosuke continued, "Two days later, you two were found. As soon as Lady Hokage mentioned and confirmed this to me, I called in Kakashi and assigned him to my task force. I told him to stay close by, monitoring your movements but staying within a detectable distance— in order to gauge your capability of course. But beyond Kakashi, though, were several of my ANBU agents and they gathered all the information I needed— well, just the general. Now the scroll on the other hand, that's a different story, but in about three days, I acquired everything I needed to know about you." He met Boruto's eyes, "Does that about sum it up?"

Boruto had finished his tea in the duration of the story, and maybe it was the fact that everything was out in the open or maybe the blend really had calmed his nerves. Either way, he felt neutral; the disappointment muted as more pressing matters came to light.

"So you've known we were here all along?"

Inosuke nodded.

"And you knew who we were?"

Another nod.

Boruto could feel that irritated tick making its comeback, "Then why the hell did you let us just roam around the village for a _month_!?"

Inosuke seemed to heavily consider his question before responding simply, "I guess I wasn't too sure until now. It was all merely conjecture at the beginning. In order for this to work, I couldn't approach you until I had just enough information to be 100% sure. There was the possibility you'd recognize me for who I was and act rashly but we needed you to stay 'incognito' for as long as possible."

"And the same didn't go for Kakashi?" Boruto countered. "The chances of us recognizing him had to be higher"

"It was a chance that I had to take," He shrugged. "The odds that you would trust him more than me were higher."

"Trust" was kind of a strong word, all things considering. Though the jonin hadn't led them to their deaths after all, he sure hadn't made their time here any easier.

"Still. We've come in contact with a lot of people. Too many people. We were only trying to stay out of the way until I could fix things." Boruto didn't understand the point of all these _secrets._ If they'd just been upfront, then Boruto and Himawari could have avoided ties with their parents in the first place. Not to mention that Boruto never took too kindly to being lied to.

The investigator snorted at Boruto's claim, raising an eyebrow, "Oh, and how exactly did you plan to do that?"

"I...would've figured something out!" He insisted, face flushing.

"If it's any consolation, for weeks my team has been searching high and low for leads but frankly, we're coming upon dead end after dead end. I figured it was about time to get you two in on it so here we are," Inosuke offered, pouring himself another cup of tea. "I do have to say though, whoever wrote this jutsu was very thorough, and while the entirety of it is lost upon me, at least right now," He crossed his arms, "I do have few theories of my own going."

Boruto almost snorted at the implication— his _father_ was all things _but _thorough. Of all the times for him to take a personality change. "Right. _Anyway_," He cast his eyes towards the drawer containing their ticket out. "Can we get our scroll back now?"

The man burst with laughter, while Boruto glowered at him from his spot. "It's _evidence_, kid. Of course not."

"Evidence for what?" Boruto asked acidly. "You still haven't explained that part yet."

The shinobi's lips pressed together into a small, subdued smile as he fiddled with some of the items spread on the table.

"Hatake, thank you for your work," He said, going to work dismantling a pen. "You may go."

The jonin shrugged easily, pushing off the wall he was propped against and stuffing his novel into his pocket. As much as Boruto was pissed at Kakashi, he wasn't going to leave them alone with this guy, was he? Sure Inosuke was scatterbrained and easy to a smile, but there was such a thing as ulterior motives and this guy _reeked_ of it.

"Hold on!" Boruto demanded. Kakashi looked lazily over, hand already on the door. He could feel his blood simmering just looking at him. The precious sensei whom his parents held so close to their hearts was an enigma to Boruto. One minute he showed the slightest bit of compassion, and the next he was selling them down the river. Though Boruto wanted nothing more than to chew him out, he refrained from doing so and instead spoke to Inosuke.

"You want answers right?"

"Confirmation of my suspicions, yes." He hummed.

"I'll give them to you. All of it," Boruto relented, eyes flicking down at his hands planted firmly on the table— the bandage on his right arm had unravelled even further. When Inosuke shifted his inquisitive gaze onto him, Boruot met it with resolve, "But I'll only do it if you let my sister go. She goes with Kakashi and I'll give you whatever you want."

Breaking her silent streak, Himawari yanked him roughly by his sleeve, "_No_. If you're staying, _I'm _staying!"

And as endearing as his little sister was in clinging to him all the time, he really wished that she could see the bigger picture here. He pulled away, not meeting her eye, "No, you aren't. I'll deal with whatever consequences, but _you're _going back."

"I am _not_!"

"Yes you are—"

Kakashi relinquished his hold on the door handle in favor of rubbing his temples, "I've endured more bickering than I would ever like to in my lifetime, especially in the last few weeks. Some quiet, please."

Inosuke cocked his head, adopting that curious look again, "He doesn't seem to trust me, does he?"

"You get used to it," Kakashi sighed.

"Well in any case," Inosuke went to work piecing his pen back together. "Neither of you are going anywhere. You don't have much room— oh, excuse me, you don't have _any _room for negotiation."

Boruto gaped, "But she's got nothing to do with this—"

"Well as far as I'm concerned though, you both hold equal parts in all of this so we can _all _stay here!— Except you Kakashi, you're free to go. Be back by sunset."

Kakashi grunted in affirmation, taking one final glance at the two. He sighed deeply, reaching a hand to rest in his grey mass, "Don't give him a hard time, alright? The easier it is for him, the easier it is for me."

And with that, he made his exit and Boruto and Himawari were alone with Inosuke.

It was then that Boruto remembered that they were several feet underground and though probably unlikely— he didn't necessarily trust Inosuke, but he sought some sort of strange comfort in the fact that he had a familiar name— if they did need help, though, no one except Kakashi knew where they were.

Kakashi's parting words, while not empty, had felt more like some half-hearted reassurance that Boruto was going to take with a grain of salt.

Inosuke snickered at Boruto whose face, he guessed, was raging with emotions, "You're just twelve; what's there to be so on edge about? Got trust issues or something?"

"You could say that I haven't exactly been told the truth lately." He snapped.

"Fair," he allowed. "A word, though: this is gonna be a lot easier if you just calm down, alright?"

Boruto forced himself to at least get a grip on what he portrayed outwardly. Here they were supposed to trust some stranger who claimed he knew everything about them? It may have looked like everything was falling into place, but it all seemed too easy. Excuse him if he was a little dubious. Besides, Boruto narrowed his eyes at the man, liars weren't his favorite people.

"Come on you two, lighten up." Inosuke smiled again, clicking his reassembled pen and putting a clean document down in front of him. "I know this is sudden and all, and well, you have reason to be wary of me, but I'm only here for your benefit." He lit up as an idea struck him, "I know! You two can ask me anything you like, anything at all, and I'll answer with complete honesty."

While Boruto decided whether or not to take his offer, Inosuke managed to break his pen entirely in all his incessant clicking, leaving ink splattered across the paper. The shinobi laughed, rubbing his inky hand on the inside of his lab coat, "I uh, was never good at building things."

Managing to break apart an entire pen was one thing, but this guy had such an odd vibe about him that Boruto was left to wonder if this was actually some elaborate scheme that involved this Inosuke guy pretending to be some high ranking, sorta shady investigator. Himawari, he _swore_, had laughed quietly at the blunder. When he looked over at her, she clamped her lips shut, and stared down at her lap, eyebrows knit together in guilt.

"So you and Kakashi know each other?" Boruto prodded while he cleaned up.

"Oh yes," Inosuke had gotten up to dispose of and retrieve a new pen. "Of course we've worked together before, but I've known him for years."

The search, however, for a new writing utensil took a lot more time than it should have so they were left basking in suspense; Inosuke's intimidation factor gradually plummeted as he excavated through his mess of a room.

"I'd just started working for the Hokage so it was about fifteen years ago," He told them as he shook out a book in hopes of finding his pen, "But we occasionally crossed paths. As child prodigies we kinda had to."

"So you guys were friends?" Boruto raised an eyebrow.

Inosuke snorted, dumping out a random drawer of his desk, "Far from it, probably. Kakashi told me that I was annoying." He shrugged, "But you know, that was the past and I'd think that he has some sort of respect for me seeing as I outrank him."

"_You_ outrank _him_?"

"Hard to believe, right?" He pushed up his glasses. "Not in the conventional sort of way, but yes. I'm not that strong, I never have been. Lucky that I've got my brains or I guess I would've been pretty useless."

Boruto frowned. Back in their time there were plenty of other occupations that one could pursue other than being a shinobi, but times were different then- _now_.

"You're a part of the Yamanaka clan, aren't you? So wouldn't your jutsu alone put you above the rest?"

"Nope. Not at all," he laughed. "When all you're bringing to the table is the ability to _kind of_ perform a mind transfer and the other guy can throw ten shuriken with his eyes closed that hit their mark exactly, then it's pretty obvious who is more useful."

"Is that why your mind transfer didn't work earlier?" He stopped, rephrasing his slight curiosity into well deserved irritation, "What the hell was that even about?"

"So many questions," Inosuke sighed dramatically. "How about I tell you later?"

"You _said _we could ask you anything."

"Yeah I did, didn't I…" He reflected upon the decision, looking as if he was searching for some way out of _that_ question, when he spun around and gave a smiling glance to Himawari. "How's about we give the little one a chance to speak? She looks ready to burst with curiosity."

Himawari perked up, almost looking to Boruto for permission, but instead she bit her lip, twiddling her thumbs underneath the table as she thought of a question.

"Do you…" She started quietly. " know Ino?"

Inosuke nodded, "Sure I do, she's my niece."

"Really?" Himawari's eyes brightened.

And while Boruto thought it was a small world before, it had miraculously gotten even smaller. "Wait… you're a part of the head family?"

"I believe that's how it works." he replied sardonically. "You know now that I think about it, Ino and Naruto were in the same graduating class, weren't they?"

Boruto was certain he'd never heard of an Inosuke from back home, not that he was too enthralled with the Yamanaka family tree. He'd heard that Inojin's grandfather died before he was born and the title as clan head went to Ino… If Ino's father died then wouldn't the clan be passed off to his brother?

Filing the information away for later, Boruto settled on another question, "Does that mean you know Naruto too?"

He'd found his pen, clicking it all the way back to the table before scribbling a few test lines on a stray sheet of paper, "Not personally, no."

Boruto narrowed his eyes, "You made it seem like you knew so much about everyone."

He shrugged easily, "It works the same way I know so much about you. I don't do mediocre work, you know. I'm given an assignment and I do _all _the work necessary to reach my goal."

Boruto suppressed a shiver at the cold shift in his tone. There was something off about this guy, he just knew it.

Before Boruto could counter with any follow up questions, Inosuke clapped his ink-stained hands together. "I think that's enough about me. Time is of the essence—ha, get it?"

Despite his overall lax temperament, Inosuke wasn't as smart as he thought he was if he believed that Boruto would buy into this act— no, that would've been too easy. While there was the chance that he was telling the truth and that he really was just another smiling idiot, Boruto was hyper-focused on the possibility that this was nothing but a ruse.

"I've got one more question." Boruto eyed him evenly. And Himawari, well tuned to Boruto's variations in mood, gave him her own pointed glance. To her discredit though, she was much more concerned with being "nice" than by any threat that might have been looming in front of them, despite the fact— he thought rather irritably— one of the first things Inosuke tried to do was take over his mind.

"What do you plan to do with the scroll?"

Inosuke snorted, eyes preoccupied with scanning over a file he'd opened, "Do I really have to answer that?"

"You _said _any question." He responded hotly.

Inosuke looked up from his read and tossed it aside onto a pile beside him. He leaned forward against his hands and smiled icily at him. "I could ask you the same thing, don't you think?" Inosuke didn't wait for a response. "For someone whose life I practically saved, you're pretty ungrateful. Let's say I _did_ give you the scroll back. What then? How close were you to figuring out how to get back home? Did you consider all the damage you did to our timeline by coming here?"

Boruto started, remembering his plan to scour the library for answers. How he planned on leaving the village that night, as if that would undo everything that had happened in the last few weeks. The slow and painful realization that he'd been deluding himself began to sweep over him again.

The chilliness of Inosuke's grin lifted and he sighed, "Honestly kid, if you're some sort of super genius who has this all figured out, maybe you _should _stay here."

Shame was swirling deep in his gut and his fingers dug into his palms underneath the table.

"So what if I don't?" He muttered, eyes glued to his lap. "My dad wasn't a freaking genius— he didn't even know the jutsu was completed and we got here in one piece."

"Wasn't complete, huh?" Boruto watched as Inosuke looked inquisitively between the two, eyes lingering just a bit longer on Himawari. "You two are quite the capable pair if you were able to cast an 'unfinished' jutsu."

Boruto jumped to his sister's defense— there was no reason to make _her _feel guilty about this whole ordeal. "Look, we didn't even know what it was. We… _Himawari _only wanted to help my stupid old man, and he was the one who told her it was incomplete. If anything it's _his _fault, not ours."

"Children shouldn't meddle in the affairs of grownups." The investigator intoned.

Boruto was getting more and more irritated as the seconds ticked by— there was just something about a situation in which his father was _obviously _at fault but instead it was Boruto who was framed as the guilty party. He was _always _the guilty party and he was sick of it. "Whatever. We would've figured something out eventually."

Inosuke seemed to suppress his amusement about the whole situation. Hiding a smile, he said, "Riddle me this… Do you even know how you got here? Where 'here' is? Do you know the effect your arrival has had not on this world but you, yourselves?"

"The effect it's had on us?—"

"Exactly why you would've been completely hopeless without me," Inosuke huffed, tapping his new pen against the tabletop. It was a fidgety sort of tapping, but he didn't even seem aware that he was doing it. It was gradually getting on Boruto's nerves all the same. "Despite what you might've thought, time travel isn't as simple as performing a jutsu then _poof_ you're there, _x _years back in time. It's far from that easy and I fear I've barely grazed the surface…" There was a grave look on his face that Boruto found unsettling, his irritation at practically being _scolded _and, of course, that constant tap, tap, _tapping _soon melted down into anxiety once more. So much for being saved. "When you two time travelled, you projected yourselves into this timeline using what I gather to be a _substantial _amount of chakra… I have to ask: have you two felt any excess fatigue? Blurry vision? When was the last time you used large amounts of chakra?"

Brother and sister exchanged a wary glance. "I use my chakra pretty regularly… I've been given assignments every now and then, but I've been fine." Boruto responded. "Himawari?"

"I've been okay too." She mumbled meekly.

It was as Inosuke drifted into contemplative thought that Boruto remembered Naruto and how day by day, his chakra drained ever so slightly. There was no way this could be related, Boruto thought frantically. Kurama would still be hostile with him at this point… it probably had something to do with the kyuubi. Nonetheless, guilt wormed its way into Boruto's cesspool of emotions.

It was a lot to unpack, Boruto grimaced. He'd never even considered that it could bring any harm to themselves and wait, had Inosuke said _this _timeline? As in there was _more than one_?

"Do you remember earlier when I mentioned I was confirming a suspicion?" Inosuke finally spoke, and Boruto prayed that his suspicion offered them some sort of explanation for all the unanswered questions Inouske had brought to life. Though with the way things were going… "My mind transfer isn't strong," He continued. "It only works at close range and it should have been successful when I used it on you, but it wasn't, so you proved my little hypothesis correct.

"Your chakra reserves are much bigger than any child your ages should be. In fact, combined it's a lot bigger than some of our jonins'. When you jumped, a portion of your chakra was used to send you here, but the jutsu called for a larger output to… I don't know what exactly. I've had many experts on my team try to detect any abnormal readings from the both of you, but nothing came up.

"I have to say… I was stumped for a while, but I've got a few running hypotheses. My experiment from earlier proved that any foreign body of chakra can't reach you. You have some sort of thin, undetectable covering around your body made entirely out of chakra, but I have no clue how its been sustaining itself for this long and no one could sense anything. I doubt even the Hyuga could see it at first glance."

Boruto stared down at his hands, covertly trying to detect this _thing_ Inosuke claimed had been surrounding them the entire time. How had he not noticed it? It was his chakra, wasn't it? Instead of making things clearer, Boruto was more confused than ever.

"So what does that mean for us?" he asked. For now, he'd let Inosuke do his job. The "untangling", as he called it. If their lives were in danger, then he'd suck up his pride and let him tell them what to do. He had to trust that Inosuke knew what he was talking about.

"It could mean several things." Leaning back, the man before them seemed to list out all the possibilities in the air. "It could mean that you unintentionally gave yourselves an added barrier to protect yourselves— how you would even manage to do that, I'd have no idea. It could mean that this barrier isn't acting as protection but possibly as your one and only link back to your timeline. I think that's one of my better theories—"

"Wait. _Link_?"

Inosuke nodded in the affirmative, picking up his pen and began doodling a shape on a blank sheet of paper. After crudely sketching out a drawing of what he assumed to be he and his sister, he circled both of the drawings and at the top of each circle, He drew a long line that led all the way to the top of the page.

"This," he pointed to the line. "Is what would be your link. Like I said, my experiment definitely increased the probability of this being what's at work. But back to it, I don't know whether it's flowing chakra in or out but, if I _am _correct in this thinking, I fear what will happen if this continues for much longer."

"You don't mean… that we could die, right?" Boruto asked carefully.

"No." Boruto's shoulders relaxed just slightly before Inosuke revised his statement. "At least I don't think so. Neither of you have suffered any exponential loss in chakra and it's been a couple of weeks so the supply isn't coming from you, but even worse is that we don't know _where _it's coming from. You could be sapping the lifeforce of everyone you encounter and don't even know it."

And again he thought of Naruto and guilt weighed heavily on his shoulders. None of this was supposed to happen. Naruto was the last person who was supposed to find them and they'd been living with him for _weeks _now. They were killing him. He shouldn't have found them. He should have left them _alone_.

"Inosuke," Boruto began urgently. "Is there any way you can let us live somewhere else? I don't…"— he didn't understand why he hesitated— "I don't think that we should stay with Naruto anymore."

"And why's that?" He inquired.

"All that stuff you said… if there's any truth to it then we're hurting innocent people."

"So you want to cut ties with Naruto Uzumaki ..." His arms were crossed over his chest and that conspiratory smirk made its return. "A good idea, but I'm afraid it's not that easy."

Boruto wasn't as upset as he would've liked by that answer, but feigned objection anyway. "Why _not_?"

"Well think about it: Naruto thinks that you two are his long lost orphaned cousins. As great of an idea that _I _think it is, I was given my own orders to keep you under his care."

"But we're _killing _him!"

"Maybe," Inosuke shrugged indifferently. "Like I said before: we don't know. In truth, there are far too many variables missing for me to even really be close to sending you home or to even confirm my hypothesis. All of this is at _best _an educated guess. I won't know until I get more information, and who knows how long that will take?"

Boruto couldn't help the disappointment that ultimately settled on his shoulders. So they wouldn't be going home after all. At least for a while. He hadn't realized that he'd had hope, but only recognized it fizzling away in his chest. He bit his lip, glancing at his hands. He knew the role he had to play here. He had to receive this situation with poise and stay level-headed, even though the whole thing made him want to scream.

"But we have room for compromise," Inosuke informed them. "Naruto will be receiving more than a few… 'missions' in the upcoming weeks, which should be more than enough to occupy his time away from you two. Everyday you'll come here until sunset to limit any further interaction with people. If I end up feeling more drained than usual, then we'll have to isolate you two further, but if not, things can go back to normal… well as normal as they can be. Sound fair?"

"Yeah," Boruto sighed, feeling exhausted. While his face was neutral and his air relatively calm, Boruto felt himself spiraling and if it weren't for Himawari brushing against his arm, he would've surely drowned. He blinked, clearing his blurry vision. If Inouske had noticed, he didn't say anything.

"In the meantime, I'll have Naruto examined." He scribbled down the note. "In the end, all he'd be suffering from is chakra exhaustion so the hospital should be able to help him out."

Boruto nodded in affirmation. He'd be okay. Boruto was suddenly angry with himself for caring so much. It was just exhaustion. He wouldn't die. Of course he wouldn't have died over something so stupid.

"This barrier or whatever…" Boruto mumbled, recalling his mom's— _Hinata's _visit earlier. Her byakugan j_ust stopped working_. Was that his fault too? "Could it stop the use of the byakugan?"

Inosuke considered the question, humming, "It stopped a mind transfer so it's not completely implausible."

"Right. And do you think it could have an effect on—" Boruto stopped short, but Inosuke was already two steps ahead.

"On your body or on your byakugan?" He finished.

Himawari tensed beside him. Boruto, however, was too tired to be surprised— too much was on his mind.

"So you know about that too?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"I know _everything_. Haven't you guys figured that out by now?" He grinned, dripping with self satisfaction. "But for both, I'd have to say yes. I just can't believe there'd be no consequences to such a large input of chakra; there's gotta be drawbacks. I advise you don't use it too often, but just for the sake of science…" ("the sake of science," _ha. _Boruto could see right through this guy.) "why don't you try now?"

"Yeah, that's kind of hard to explain …" He deflected.

Inosuke's green orbs held a fascinated glow, practically telling them "_go on."_

In truth, Boruto wasn't a fan of talking about his dojutsu, or lack thereof. He had few insecurities; he'd grown up pretty confident in who he was and his abilities, but he'd always come up short when it came to his Hyuga side. As far as anyone else was concerned he didn't _have _the byakugan, just some strange deformation of it. Not that Inosuke needed to know that, at least for the time being.

"Mine's different." He settled on.

And Inosuke conveniently seemed to recognize that he wasn't planning on elaborating further and glanced at his sister.

"I have it," she mumbled, sounding sorry to even admit it in Boruto's presence. "It's hard to use though. So I can't do it when I want to."

Inosuke smiled encouragingly at their admissions and Boruto resented the fact that he felt _comforted _by it.

"It seems that you two are going to keep me busy, but as always, I'm up to a challenge." he beamed before sobering his expression down to the slightest of smiles, "But I hope that we'll be able to work well together and send you both home as soon as possible."

At their initial hesitance, he added, "And, in the spirit of trust…" Inosuke somehow managed to materialize a brush in all the clutter and dipped into a half dried ink pot. Clenching the brush in his teeth, he rolled up his sleeve.

Boruto and Himawari both watched curiously as he painted a series of symbols on his arm. On two slips of paper, he copied out two identical seals, handing it to the two of them when he was all finished.

Boruto started, raising his head to find Inosuke unperturbed. "I assume you recognize the paper bombs. Every session that we have, I'll rewrite the bomb on my arm exactly. Or, you could write it. Doesn't matter to me. If you at all feel threatened, feel free to detonate."

The young shinobi stared back at them unblinkingly; he was being earnest, the bombs in their hands were legit enough. Though Boruto didn't believe equipping two kids with a bomb was at all a good idea— seriously, he was probably going to take Himawari's away— best case scenario was that Inosuke actually wanted to help them and harbored no underlying intent, and well, worst case, they could blow his arm off.

For now, he'd rust him. Boruto hadn't forgotten that off feeling from earlier and had no intention of letting his guard down. He'd seen where that had gotten all too many times for his liking in the past few weeks.

"Okay." Boruto nodded tersely. "Let's do it."

…

The walk home was spent in contemplative silence. There was a lot to think about after all.

They could be going home soon. Or later. Either way, they had a solid way of trying to figure it out, at least. Inosuke was right: he should be grateful that someone was willing to fix his mess.

And he was.

But for all the grief she gave him over being "polite," Himawari didn't look all too happy with their current situation. She trudged just behind them, and though she probably didn't know he'd noticed, he'd seen her dragging her feet. Shadows cast by the setting sun made her look all the more miserable and Boruto fought off an eye roll.

The sky was a bloody shade of red— a sunset he didn't think he'd seen before. It was such a harsh contrast to the golden ball of light sinking behind buildings, but fitting in a sense…

His bandage had come undone and he'd hastily tied it back up but he could feel it unraveling in his pocket. By normal standard he should've been all healed up, especially with something so small as a scrape from getting thrown into the street— he was still pretty pissed about it but even more pissed that it was still bugging him.

He was _more _than ready to get back home. Then he wouldn't have to worry about all these little things that had been bothering him all day.

Sure, it was "fun" while it lasted, but separation was inevitable. He made a mental note to remind his sister of that fact when they were alone.

In front of them though, Kakashi languidly guided them back to the apartment. Boruto had been eyeing him in between thoughts for a while now. The jonin hadn't so much as spoken to them since he'd come to retrieve them.

"_Does Kakashi know?" Boruto had asked Inosuke._

"_He wasn't granted clearance to know— pesky conditionals— but I suspect he's caught on by now. Though I never specifically mentioned the time travelling business, I wasn't exactly hiding it."_

Inosuke had told them to trust Kakashi, but Boruto was ironically more trusting of Inosuke at present than he was of Kakashi. Maybe if _he _wrote a bomb out on his arm…

Then Boruto felt a little bad. They _had_ known Kakashi their whole lives. Shouldn't it have been reassuring to know that he possibly knew their secret?

But then again, this wasn't _their _Kakashi was it? Though he'd only briefly mentioned it, Inosuke had said that they had gone to another timeline so even though things _looked _the same didn't mean that everything lined up as it did in their own timeline. And though he felt a bit guilty about potentially messing up an alternate timeline, he was slightly relieved that it wasn't their own after all.

But what did that mean for them now if Kakashi knew this? Technically, they weren't a part of _this _village, so the possibility of his not trusting them wasn't completely off the table. But where would they go from there? Boruto most certainly wasn't going to trust him if he didn't trust them.

"Kakashi," Boruto called to the jonin once they had broken away from the abandoned sect of the village and back into society. He kept his voice low as he continued, "Are you…" Asking him if he was still going to be hostile sounded stupid when he really thought about it, so he struck up another topic, "What are you going to say to Naruto?"

He shot him a disinterested look as he responded, "What am _I _going to say? What does any of this have to do to me."

"Well… he's your student after all. I know how much he means to you, anyway." Kakashi's eyes narrowed, but Boruto convinced himself not to shrink at it as he continued, "I just… wanted to know how you'd explain this to him."

"Again, what does this have to do with _me_?"

Boruto blinked, wondering if he'd heard right. "I mean… I don't know, I thought it'd be your job to tell him."

"Tell him what exactly?"

"Well… you know…That we won't be around as often." Why was he playing stupid? Boruto didn't even care all that much about what Naruto had to say. He guessed that things really were different now.

His back was turned to them and he kept his pace. "If you're so concerned about it, do it yourself."

Boruto scoffed. What was his deal _now_? "Why would I do that?"

"I dunno," Kakashi shrugged lazily. "He should hear it from his cousin, not me."

"That's not… ugh, whatever. He can just deal with it for all I care."

"You sure seemed to care a second ago," Kakashi noted breezily.

"Well I _don't_." Boruto rolled his eyes, a part of him glad that Kakashi reminded him that he _didn't _care. He was ready to drop the whole "trying to get on Kakashi's good side" thing because it wasn't worth his sanity. Only a few hours ago was he giving them his token Kakashi-reassurances that Boruto _thought _was masked affection or at least something close to it. Now they weren't even worth his attention. _Whatever_.

"Why are you always so mean?" A small voice piped up behind him.

Boruto turned and regarded his sister who'd still been moping. He sighed, holding back to let her walk by his side. "It's not '_mean'_, Himawari."

Her eyes cut across to him and for the briefest of moments, the murkiness in her dark blue orbs startled him. "So we're just going to leave one day, then? That's _mean_. He doesn't deserve that."

"We don't owe him anything." He explained with a shrug.

"_Yes we do!_ We could've still been in the forest if it wasn't for him."

Boruto really didn't know what was going on with her. Did she really not understand that they weren't in their own timeline, thus they had no right to interfere _at all_? Himawari wasn't a stupid kid but her emotions blinded her more than they should have; she was far to old for this. "I wish we had stayed," he muttered. "At least then you wouldn't have been giving me so much shit about this."

She looked affronted at his language, but for some reason, she was adamant about arguing with him. "You owe him an explanation or something. He let us live with him for this long. He… He's done so much for us and—"

"And _what_? I'm supposed to tell him the truth because you two were 'friends'? When are you going to grow up already?"

She grumbled, "I hate it when you get like this."

_Like what? _The calmer part of his mind wondered. He decided to save the question for another time; he was far too irritated with Himawari's damned emotions to worry about what that could have meant. Instead of telling her that she was being a _baby _like he wanted to, he reigned in his temper ever so slightly. "If it means that much to you," Boruto bit out, shoveling his hands coolly into his pockets. "Why don't _you _tell him?"

His sister's expression grew darker. "Because you told me not to. I actually _listen _to you."

They'd reached the apartment and Himawari wasted no time in storming up the stairs and slamming the door closed. Boruto sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

_Patience, Boruto_, his mother had reminded him so many times before. _Your sister is younger than you so she'll need some guidance from her big brother to understand what's right._

He let out a deep exhale. Sure. He'd spend a little time outside to let the _both _of them diffuse.

_She just got a lot of information dumped on her all at once_, He reasoned to himself. _It's only natural that she be testy._

Right, Boruto decided, coming to sit on the bottom step of the staircase. He would just wait a while. It was probably for the best anyway, he had his own thoughts to manage, let alone his temperamental sister.

To his surprise though, he found Kakashi still standing there, watching him with that same bored expression on his face.

"...do you need something?"

Kakashi blinked, heavily hunching his shoulders up. "Dunno."

Boruto really wanted to tell him to get lost because he wasn't in the mood for Kakashi's cryptic behavior, but he valued his life a little too much to do that. So instead he simply pretended that he wasn't there and fiddled with reapplying the bandage around his hand.

He hissed slightly at the sting and irritably shook out his hand to stave off some of the pain. _Why was it bothering him so much?_

"You know…"

"_What?"_ Boruto snapped, ripping off the bandage entirely, examining the angry red of his palm. "You've obviously wanted to say something, just spit it out."

"I just thought you'd like to know that you remind me a lot of Naruto when he was your age."

Boruto eyed him warily. Was he about to give him some sentimental speech? Because really he was _not _in the mood—

"In that I really hate you."

Why he was surprised, he didn't know. Boruto, while mildly offended, chose to pay him no mind, and flexed his hand instead, there was a dull ache that was more than a little bothersome. "That sounds about right." He muttered. "Anything else, or did you just want to nag me all night?"

"Yes. I realize that I actually might hate you a little more."

Boruto threw his hands up, "Well it's a good thing you won't have to deal with me for much longer then, isn't it?"

"It is." Kakashi gave a single nod. As always his presence feigned nonchalance, and Boruto wondered if he thought that he was still intimidated by the show. Frankly, after the day he'd had, he was beyond exhausted and was in no way— well at least not _completely_— susceptible to Kakashi's attempts at being menacing.

"Right then." Kakashi said once he'd had enough of his own silent interrogation. "I'll be by in the morning to escort you back and distract your _host _from the treachery of his most prized possessions_._"

"_Possessions?" _ Boruto scoffed. "What kind of game are you playing at?"

He saw the glimmer of bemusement in the jonin's eye and he wanted nothing more than to wipe that stupid, self-satisfied _smirk—_

"Ah, nothing, kid. He's gotten attached to you is all. He parades you two around like new toys. Unfortunate that he has to see you go though."

"It was his stupid fault for getting attached in the first place. _None of this_ would have happened if it weren't for him." At this point he was absolutely seething. Everything— his hands, his head, his _eye—_ had all acquired a dull aching that only irritated Boruto further. _Why was Kakashi still here?—_

"Woah, touchy." Kakashi held up his hands— _mocking him_, Boruto grit his teeth— "You sure are one to talk."

_Don't take the bait. Don't take the bait—_

"And what's _that _supposed to mean?"

Kakashi turned to leave, shrugging, "He's not the one throwing a temper tantrum right now, is he?"

"Go to _hell_."

Kakashi issued him half a wave before disappearing completely from sight. As soon as he was gone, Boruto stood up, almost as if to chase after him. Realizing that it would inevitably be pointless, he looked down at his marred hand, clenching it despite the pain it brought. He needed to punch something— _anything_.

He looked around looking for an old lamp post to demolish. Even a small sapling somewhere would do. He was practically seeing red and the pent up rage within him had come to a boiling point; he spun around to punch the wooden posts that supported the building. He stopped just short of following through, though— more out of pain than common sense.

He sat back down on the steps with a huff, tossing the bandages clenched in his fist into the street.

His chakra swirled in his palm and on instinct a bright blue ball began to form. He crushed it immediately, glancing down at his hand in disgust. _It was _his_. _So instead he managed a few sparks of lightning but his hand shook so badly after a couple snaps that he had to settle on just… _sitting_.

_Just breathe, Boruto. One deep breath in, and one back out. Do it as much as you need to._

If he thought about her words hard enough, Boruto could faintly smell lavender in the chilly night air. Like always… she was right. After a few minutes of just _calming down_ he was able to think rationally.

Why had he been so angry? He clenched his chest, feeling vicious emotions still trying to fight their way back out. Why was he _still_ so angry?

He should've been glad, relieved even, but he was wound so tightly that he just exploded.

None of it mattered anyway, Boruto decided rationally. They were leaving. Maybe not soon, but they'd leave eventually. This wasn't their time, no one, not even he, had any room to form, or rather, _forget_ attachments.

It was stupid.

…

**just a general update for you guys: i think I'll be taking this story to ao3 as well. I barely use this platform for reading anymore and i find ao3 is easier— and personally more aesthetically pleasing—** **to read stories on. I did *not* realize that there were so many ads here, yikes! Updates will continue here as well though! **

**(also... are these chapters too long? I think they might be whoooops :P )**


End file.
